Eda's Softer Side
by Monster1000
Summary: Eda, Luz, King and Hooty find a male human teenager lost and hurt in the Boiling Isles. They wonder how he got there, why he's there and why he's alone. They suspect he's a victim of abuse. So they take him in and realize they got a new challenge to take on: Caring for an emotionally hurt child and for some reason, he's scared of Eda and they wonder why.
1. Chapter 1

It was a sunny day in The Boiling Isle as everything in the town of Bonesborough looked like it was doing good and normal, or normal as it ever could be for a place like it. The young human female, Luz, the young looking female witch, Eda, and the small and cute demon male, King, were somewhere in town as it looked like they were heading out from the Market Place.

"Do you usually do business that way when in the market place?" asked Luz curiously.

"Not always, but sometimes, I just got to lure them like predator luring their prey into a trap. Well, only if they make the trap snap shut like slamming the door." said Eda with a laugh.

"Makes me wonder what that smell was earlier when we were about to head out?" said King giggling. "Did someone let one rip?"

"It's not that smell, if anyone had that smell, someone would be dead like a corpse." said Eda a little annoyed by it.

They were walking their way out from the market place and they saw some younger people running from one way to somewhere else, nearly bumping into them but missed them by inches.

"It's like parents telling their kids to walk and don't run, especially in a place they believe is too fun to listen to anyone." said Eda shaking her head.

"Just like kids in the shopping mall where I'm from." said Luz in agreement. "But lets hope their teen years are better than any kids my age."

Eda laughed and agreed as if she understood the feeling. It wasn't long till they heard what sounded like a loud scream, they stopped as the moment of optimism had just ended.

"You hear that?" said Luz.

"A loud scream of terror? Oh yeah." said Eda.

"Should we be worried and do something or be prepared to run?" suggested King.

They heard the loud scream again and it sounded like it had a male's voice as it sounded deeper and it didn't sound like no maiden. It sounded close as they walked on and were looking like they were keeping their wits about them.

"Luz, remember when I would say if there's any danger lurking nearby and you stick with me and King the whole time till it's over?" Eda reminded. "Well, don't stray from me and King."

"Okay." agreed Luz.

As they kept walking and watching their step, it wasn't long till somewhere nearby, something looked like something was coming at them from the front and it came at them like a cannon ball being blasted out of a cannon. They stopped.

"Uh oh." they said in unison.

It looked like a person who got tossed towards them like a football across the field. The person landed on the ground, bounced a bit and a loud groan of pain escaped it's voice. The body stopped and dropped at their feet.

"Oh my, is that a boy?" said Luz looking surprised.

The body looked like a human boy. He appeared to be a human male at the age of fourteen, he looked slightly taller than Luz, his body looked like he was a bit muscular from what his arms looked, he was wearing a black T-shirt, blue jeaned pants, black leather, steel toed boots. He appeared to be a male Caucasian human with a full head of thick, full, voluminous blonde hair, straight hair that looked like hair that would make a Hollywood actor envious, it was long as it went down to this collarbone, parted down the middle. As his eyes were slightly opened, they could see he had blue eyes. He had a red mark on his face like he got punched.

"Another human?" said Eda and King in unison.

Luz immediately sat at the boy's side as she was pulling him up a bit to see if he had an injury. So far, it looked more like he had bruises and red marks on him.

"What happened to you, kid?" Luz asked the boy.

The boy tried to speak but he had looked too dazed to say anything as he let out another groan of pain. He managed to point out something. They turned to see who or what it was he was pointing at. They saw what looked like man dressed in white clothing, had chalk white skin, a lot of red hair and looked like a clown with an evil grin.

"Hello ladies. I see you have someone I want." said the evil clown as he had a goofy, scary and deep male's voice.

Eda looked at the clown and at Luz and King, they shook their heads at Eda as if telling her not to give the boy up to the evil clown demon. Eda nodded and looked at the clown.

"What do you want from this boy, anyway?" Eda told the clown. "Don't you know how mean it is to pick on someone younger and smaller than you?"

"He has something I want, and it's of great power. That human is a nobody." teased the clown.

"He's not a nobody!" Luz snapped back.

The evil clown laughed evilly in what sounded like a deep and evil toned voice as he began to sprout what looked like a spider's leg from his back and his fangs got larger and looked really sharp. They looked at him in shock.

"He'll make a tasty morsel later on." said the evil clown.

"Over my powerful, dead body." said Eda as she took a battle stance.

The clown and charged at them and Eda charged at her as they would try to land ether a punch of kick and would block it. Eda would use a big glowing light as a shield when ever the clown tried to lung at her or even tried to scratch at her with big, sharp claws on the tip of the spider's legs.

"Give me the boy and I shall let you all live." growled the clown demon.

"How about I burn you on fire and call it a day, bozo." Eda remarked.

Eda swung her staff to strike at the clown's head and it left black mark on his head like it was a crater. She snapped her fingers and a bright orange light glows from her hand and she had the bright light launch at the clown like she was tossing a big orb of magic at him like tossing a big ball at him.

"Take this!" shouted Eda.

The orange light ball got so huge that once it touched the clown, his body suddenly turned to dust and the clown was no more. Luz, King and the young human teenaged boy saw this and while King and Luz were impressed by this, the young boy was terrified and surprised at the same time. The bright light faded and the clown was no more.

"Smoking is bad for your health, bozo." said Eda with a grin.

Eda turned back and walked over towards Luz, King and the boy.

"That's one way to take them down." said King.

"That was gnarly, Eda!" commented Luz with a smile.

"Doing what I can with what I've got." said Eda with a grin.

Eda, King and Luz looked over the boy as the young boy was looking like he was ether hurt or looking like he was about to sick as he had a shocked look on his face.

"Hey kiddo, you feeling alright?" Eda asked the boy.

The boy was silent as if he was too terrified to speak. He looked down at the ground as he wasn't looking at Eda or anyone as he groaned in exhaustion.

"Come on, big guy. Please don't tell us that your about to die." said King looking worried.

"Say something." said Luz worried.

The human boy shed a tear as he looked like he was about to pass out.

"Ayudame!" the boy said in a dry and raspy voice.

The boy suddenly fell backwards and his eyes closed. Luz carefully laid the boy down on his back to the ground, causing the three to look at him with concern and worry.

"Eda, we got to do something." said Luz as she tried to pull him up.

"What did that evil clown want with him?" said King looking surprised.

The boy was still breathing but it was slowly.

"We'll find out later, I'll carry him." said Eda.

Eda bent over and pulled the boy up as she tossed him over her shoulders and carried him as she proved to be very strong. Eda, Luz and King walked and went back to the owl house as they knew they had to help the young human male. The only thing on their minds was what did that evil clown want from him and how did the boy find his way to The Boiling Isles.


	2. Chapter 2

They made it to The Owl House as Eda laid the boy down on the couch and they were examining the boy for any signs of wounds or injuries. The young boy was muttering something while he was passed out.

"He's not going to need a shot, is he?" asked Luz a bit worried.

"Lets hope not or he might need a stress ball." said Eda.

Eda, Luz and King were examining him, looking underneath his shirt, his back, his legs, arms, but Eda volunteered to be the only one to look at the boy's personal area for any damages and they only found bruises and red marks on his torso, and parts of his legs and arms.

"Well, he looks like he's alright, just bruises and red marks. That evil clown looked like he beat the little guy up." said Eda looking worried.

"And his lower area, nothing wrong there?" asked King looking like he didn't want to ask.

"Trust me, nothing wrong there, and you don't want to look there, it's better an adult examines that rather than someone under the age of eighteen." said Eda reassuring them.

"I agree, I didn't want to look at that." said Luz blushing.

Eda placed her hand on the boy's chest and her hand glowed a gold light as she was looking like she was using her magic to look at something.

"Well, there's no damages to him on the inside. Nothing broken, so he's going to be alright physically." reassured Eda.

They all let out a sigh of relief after Eda removed her hand from him and her hand stopped glowing. The boy stirred a bit.

"He's about to wake up, hoot, hoot." said Hooty.

"Luz, what did the boy say before he passed out?" asked Eda curiously.

"He said help me. From that terrified look on his face, I can't say I blame him." answered Luz.

The boy let out a hiccup and his eyes were blinking as he was waking up. He let out a groan from exhaustion as his head barely moved.

"Necesito agua...necesito agua." he said slowly in a raspy voice.

"He said he needs water." translated Luz.

King pulled a gallon jug of water and gave it to Luz as Luz got up and opened it. She was about to place the top of the jug to the boy's mouth but he got up and grabbed the jug as he placed the jug to his mouth and began to chug it down.

"Wow! He was probably dehydrated." said Eda looking surprised.

The boy kept guzzling the water down as he was starting to guzzle it down in big gulps.

"Careful, you might choke." warned Luz.

The boy ignored her and was guzzling the whole jug down like his life depended on it. He guzzled it down completely within a minute. He dropped the empty jug and it landed on the floor, letting out a loud burp.

"That's one gnarly burp. I like a person who just lets it rip." said Eda with a grin.

The boy sat up and he looked at the floor, he didn't look at them as if afraid.

"Do you speak English?" asked King.

He nodded his head. Luz let out a sigh of relief as if she was afraid he didn't know any English.

"You alright? That demon clown looked like he did a number on you." said Luz worried.

"Is it dead?" asked the boy in English with his voice sounding better.

The boy had a bit of a deep voice for a teenager with a slight American Georgian accent that wasn't a ridiculous, stereotypical redneck accent as it was hard to tell if he had an accent at all since his deep voice was hard to tell. He was probably a southerner.

"Is the clown demon dead?" he asked again.

"Yes, Eda took his smiling face down." answered Luz.

The boy muttered something in Spanish that sounded like a swear word directed at the demonic clown. Luz blushed and was almost speechless.

"Lets try not to use those words here. But you are right about that." suggested Luz.

"What did he say?" asked Eda.

"You don't want to know but it was him directing an insult to the clown. Don't ask." Luz advised.

Eda seemed to be curious to what it meant but she decided not to ask. Luz walked up to the boy and held her hand out.

"Take my hand, I won't bite." said Luz kindly.

The boy placed his feet on the floor and took hold of Luz's hand as he got up on his feet, standing up. He was pulled into Luz's arms as she hugged him to comfort him. The boy hugged her back.

"You feeling alright?" asked Luz.

"Aching in parts of my body but I'll live, thanks to you." answered the boy.

Luz was happy to hear that as she hugged him a bit tighter but the boy groaned in a bit of pain.

"Can't breathe, too tight, too tight." he said weakly.

"Whoops." said Luz as she loosened her grip.

The boy let out a breath of relief as if he almost drowned.

"Who are you?" asked Eda.

The boy went silent as Eda spoke, he blushed and his heart raced. They pulled their arms off each other and the boy didn't look at Eda, he trembled a bit.

"Are you listening?" asked Eda curiously.

The boy gulped in fear and Luz placed her hand on his right shoulder as if to comfort him which worked as the boy stopped shaking.

"You wanna tell me?" asked Luz kindly.

"Maxwell!" he finally revealed his name. "Maxwell Logan."

Maxwell looked up at Luz and she smiled as she had a sympathetic look on her face.

"Nice to meet you Maxwell." said Luz.

"I'm"

"I know who you all are." said Maxwell interrupting. "Luz Noceda, Dominican-American, Latina decent. King, small demon warrior. Eda, the owl lady, most powerful witch on the boiling isles, your real name, I'll not say it out loud because I know what will happen if I do, and Hooty, the sentient barn owl-headed doorknocker, guardian of the entrance."

They all were surprised. How can Maxwell know who they all are without them telling him. Eda was also a little curious but she was also suspicious.

"How do you know us?" asked Hooty.

"Your minds are an open book and I don't know how I got that." answered Maxwell.

"You can hear our thoughts?" asked King surprised.

He nodded as Maxwell still felt a bit tired and aching. Eda walked up to Maxwell and stood in front of him. Maxwell's heart raced and he looked down at his feet as if he didn't want to look at Eda.

"Are you working for someone whose a foe of mine?" asked Eda looking serious.

Maxwell went silent and he shook his head briefly. He might not have looked like it but he was blushing deeply.

"Are you telling me the truth? You know lying is a bad idea." said Eda showing she wasn't kidding.

Maxwell nodded his head and he shook briefly out of fear. He muttered something under his breath.

"Could you speak up, Maxie. I didn't catch that." suggested Eda.

Maxwell was silent for a minute, he didn't feel very confident nor did he feel any courage at this moment.

"Please don't do it." said Maxwell finally as his voice shook.

"Don't do what?" asked Eda looking concerned.

"You need your dad, kiddo?" suggested King.

Maxwell's heart dropped with an unpleasant jolt of fear striking his heart like lightning.

"Not my dad." said Maxwell shaking all over.

They all looked at one another and wondered what he meant by that till they looked back at him.

"What did your dad do to you?" asked Luz. "You can tell us."

Hearing Luz tell him that provided a word of comfort to Maxwell and Luz took hold of Maxwell's hand to convince him to trust her.

"It's not safe." said Maxwell. "I can't really go back or I'm a dead man to him. I had no choice but to run."

Luz looked at Maxwell and at Eda. Eda, Luz and King knew that for what ever the reason was, if Maxwell didn't want to go home and he was showing signs of fear of facing death at the hands of his father or anyone apparently, than they knew they couldn't send him back.

"Maxie, I know you probably don't feel comfortable talking about it and for what ever reason why you ran off from your own home. We understand we can't make you go back." said Eda sounding like she was trying inject her sympathy into him.

"So does this mean the little tike is staying with us?" asked King looking a bit eager.

"Well, people like Maxie and the rest of us need to stick together. Regardless if we're a bit weird or if we stand out, if he's like us, than he's with us." said Eda expressing good news.

Maxwell looked up at Eda finally and just as Eda was about to reach her hand out to him, Maxwell looked away and closed his eyes. Eda placed her hand on Maxwell's left cheek and she was showing her compassion towards him. Maxwell opened his eyes and was looking right at her.

"It's alright Maxie, your safe with us. I'm not going to bite." said Eda with a grin.

"You all are a blessing from the lord." said Maxwell with a sigh of relief.

Luz wrapped her arms around Maxwell and hugged him. Maxwell hugged her back.

"Maxwell, we need to know this before anything else. Do you have any allergies or disabilities or even any past injuries? Hoot hoot." asked Hooty curiously out of concern.

"I got neither of that, well, the bruises and red marks from what happened to me today are the closest thing to injuries I got." answered Maxwell.

"Maxwell, while your here with us, you should know that this world is different from the human world so while your with me, you should do as I advise you to do since I know this world better than any human would. Kind of like a kid on their first day of school." advised Eda.

"Yes ma'am." said Maxwell.

Maxwell understood and he felt safe knowing that he'd be looked after by people who were going to keep him out of danger. Eda, King, Luz and Hooty understood that for what ever reason why he didn't want to talk about why he ran off from his own home or what ever the reason to why he didn't want to talk about what was going on between him and his own father, they understood that he wasn't ready to talk about it. The only thing on Eda's mind for now was one little thing. Why was Maxwell so nervous around her? She knew there was a reason but she decided to brush it off for now.


	3. Chapter 3

It was morning and Luz was up as she just came out of the bathroom after flushing the toilet. she was already dressed and ready for the morning.

"I wonder how everyone else slept?" said Luz.

"Oddly, I slept like a baby." said King as he walked by.

Luz smiled and picked up King as she would kiss him on his cheeks and hug him. King was a bit annoyed at first as he would be squirming around but he giggled as he was starting to like this.

"That tickles Luz." giggled King.

"Your a cutie pie." said Luz cutely.

"I'm not a cutie pie!" giggled King in denial.

"Yes you are." said Luz cutely.

"I know." said King with a grin.

After she put King on his feet on the floor, they walked down the hallway and headed towards the living room.

"I wonder how Maxie slept last night?" said King wondering.

"Hopefully, he slept alright because he had a rough day. Poor guy." Luz commented with compassion. "But boy did he devour a good amount of food last night."

"His eyes must be bigger than his stomach." joked King as he laughed a bit.

Luz grinned and shook her head as if knowing King would make a slight, small joke. They made it to the living room and walked inside it.

"I wonder how Maxwell is?" asked Luz curiously.

"I think we're about to find out." came Eda's voice.

They stopped and saw Eda standing in the living room with them and they saw that Maxwell was asleep, but floating in the air. He was at least five feet into the air as he was floating in his sleep. How he got up there was a mystery to them.

"I have no idea how he got up there but how do we get him down?" said King.

"Maybe we could tickle him awake?" joked Eda.

Eda laughed a bit and snorted a bit as she laughed.

"We wanna wake him, not have him fall down on his butt." said King blushing.

They looked right at Maxwell as it looked like he was sleeping peacefully and it looked like he was muttering or talking in a low tone in his sleep.

"Rise and shine, Maxie." King called out.

Maxwell only stirred a bit and was still asleep as he muttered something while he floats in the air in a slumber.

"But I don't want to go to school today." said Maxwell in his sleep.

They see this wasn't working and the young boy was probably a heavy sleeper from the looks of it. But than again, they did see he was tired from such a rough day yet they knew he had to wake up.

"Hey Maxwell, there's some cute girl at the door whose looking for you." giggled Luz.

King laughed a bit at that while Eda was trying hard not to laugh but she laughed a bit. Maxwell stirred a bit but was still asleep.

"I don't want to date the popular girl. Everyone knows she's a mean girl." said Maxwell in his sleep.

They see they were getting nowhere with this and Eda had an idea but she knew it might be a bit crude yet affective.

"I think I know an idea on how to wake him up." Eda said with a grin.

"Your not going to scare him, are you?" said Luz worried.

"I'm just going to catch him if he falls." responded Eda.

Eda took a deep breath and let it out as she stood close to Maxwell while she cracked her knuckles.

"Hey Maxie, where are your clothes? Your in nothing but your underwear." called out Eda.

"Wait, what?" said Maxwell as he jerked awake.

He fell from where he was floating but was caught by Eda as she was now carrying him in her arms, bridal style. Eda grinned and giggled.

"How did you sleep, kiddo?" giggled Eda.

Maxwell looked away from Eda as he saw he was still fully clothed and glad to know he wasn't naked.

"Can I please be back on my feet, miss Eda?" said Maxwell letting out a hiccup.

"Sure thing, although your light as feather." said Eda as she placed him on his feet.

Maxwell stood on his feet and saw they were looking at him which had him feeling nervous.

"Why are you guys looking at me that way?" asked Maxwell.

"You were floating in the air while you were asleep. Has that happened before?" asked Luz curiously.

"Once, but it was when I was on my first night in this world. It was inside a local inn but I was in a room that they didn't occupy that night." answered Maxwell. "I was woken up by a lady who was in charge of housekeeping and I just booked it out there."

"Why were you sneaking into a local inn for?" asked Hooty curiously.

"I had nowhere to sleep and no money. Nothing but the clothes on my back and my bag." answered Maxwell sadly.

They understood that from hearing that meant Maxwell was having nowhere to go and homeless on his first day on the boiling isles which they felt like they've asked something personal that they shouldn't have asked. There was a bit of a silence.

"I'm so sorry." said Hooty.

"It's not your fault. You didn't do anything." said Maxwell with a sigh.

"Any idea why you were floating in your sleep? No many humans do that." said Eda curiously.

Maxwell blushed deeply as Eda spoke to him. Eda seem to notice this and she was wondering if something was bothering him or she figured he's still adjusting to his new life style.

"I have no idea, things got weird since I ran into an unidentified man when I first entered this world. I never found out his name, all I know is that when we crossed paths, he told me if anyone asks, I didn't see him. Than he shook my hand and took off." answered Maxwell fast.

"If you saw him again, would you recognize him?" asked Luz.

"I don't know where he is. He took off and I don't think anyone knows where he's at." said Maxwell looking like he had no clue.

"Are you telling us the truth, Maxie?" said Eda as if trying to find out if what he said was true or false.

Maxwell fell silent once more as he looked down away again. Eda placed her hand on his left cheek which caused him to flinch and shut his eyes.

"Maxwell, your not in any trouble. We're here to help you." reassured King.

Maxwell slowly opened his right eye and looked right at Eda which Eda had a look of concern and worry.

"Is everything your telling us true?" asked Eda again.

He nodded briefly as if afraid of angering someone and suffering their wrath if he didn't tell them. Eda placed her hand on his chest and she could feel his heart rate was a bit fast from how he felt. This had him blushing a bit deeper.

"Maxie, it's alright. If you have no idea, than we understand that there's no need to talk about something you don't know about." said Eda reassuring him.

"Thank you, Miss Eda." said Maxwell his voice shaking.

Eda smiled and reached out to gently scratch behind Maxwell's left ear which caused him to shake a bit and his body felt relaxed as his right arm did twitch for a bit.

"You can just call me Eda, little guy." said Eda with a laugh.

As Maxwell felt her hand giving his body a relaxing feeling, he suddenly fell over on his left side and he was passed out. This left them all a bit surprised.

"Oops." said Eda. "A little too much?"

"A little bit." said King and Luz in unison.

"I'm alright, I'm up." said Maxwell as he quickly woke up.

As Maxwell got up on his feet, his stomach gurgled a bit as he suddenly ran out the room like he just ran at super sonic speed.

"Where'd he run off to?" said Luz.

"Bathroom! Got to use it." called Maxwell.

King tried hard not to laugh but he couldn't contain himself as he burst out laughing.

"Maxie likes Eda." laughed King as a joke.

"King's brain must be overloading and about to short circuit again." Eda said with a comeback.

"Oh wait, maybe he's afraid of pretty girls." King joked again as he had a fit of laughter.

"And whose going to give him the talk when he starts noticing girls more?" said Eda annoyed.

King's laughter stopped faster than Maxwell had ran, leaving both Luz, King and Hooty blushing.

"Not it!" said Luz, King and Hooty quickly.

"Let's just try to more understanding towards Maxwell, he's probably going through a hard time." said Luz kindly reminding them of his situation.

"Luz is right. He needs us." Eda responded in agreement. "I'm here to watch out for all of you, including Maxie. On a side note, if anyone need to give him the talk, it's better I do that."

"Agreed." they all said together.

They knew it was going to be a bit of time for Maxwell to adjust to his new life style. Luz knew that Maxwell needs to be shown love, King felt like he could try to make him laugh, yet Eda knew that there had to be a reason for why Maxwell didn't want to talk about certain things or why he was so nervous around her yet she knew he's just adjusting to things. They knew that they would have to watch out for Maxwell as they suspected that someone hurt him before or he could be going through a socially awkward phase.


	4. Chapter 4

It was starting to have the afternoon begin which was at least an hour afterwards. Eda, Luz, King and Maxwell were out in the town of Bonesborough. While the rest of them were feeling good about it, Maxwell was felt that he might not be too thrilled which he was sticking close to them like a little kid to his mother.

"Boy Maxie, you sure are a big eater." said King as if surprised.

"A guy's got to eat. Same as everyone else." said Maxwell.

"Three egg and bacon sandwiches, chopped up sausage and quite a bit of water. And one gnarly burp after you let that one rip. Nice one." laughed Eda looking thrilled.

"Good thing he went to the bathroom before we left because that was a lot of water." said King as if relieved to have taken a safety precaution.

Maxwell let out a loud hiccup as if not expecting someone to brag about him. They headed into the market place as Eda went to the stand that she ran.

"What are we here for? Won't people know about the incident between me and that evil clown?" said Maxwell as he shook and looked around him.

"We're the only ones who saw that, but if anyone else bothers you, than come to me and I'll get them to leave you alone. Same goes for the rest for you." Eda reassured them, especially Maxwell.

"You got it." said Luz and King in unison.

As Eda got her stand ready for business, she had dumped the bag she gathered up and it had plenty of items that looked like it had come from the human world.

"Is all this from the human world?" asked Maxwell curiously.

"You bet it is. A lot of it I don't always know of though." answered Eda.

Maxwell looked at their surroundings as if he was watching to see if anyone was about to see what he was about to do.

"If your going to be selling anything, than take this." said Maxwell as he pulled a bag out and placed it on the table.

They looked right at it and were curious to what was in it.

"That bag doesn't have weapons in it, does it?" asked Eda being cautious.

Maxwell shook his head and they breathed a sigh of relief. Eda began to look through the bag to see what was in it as she dumped the contents of it on the table. Suddenly, Maxwell felt an urge to use a bathroom coming on and he was trying to cross his legs. The first to take notice of this was Luz.

"Maxwell, are you alright?" Luz asked.

"Is there a toilet around here. Forgive me but I got to use the little boy's room." answered Maxwell with a groan.

"King, show him where the bathroom is. I don't want Maxie getting lost or creeped out by anyone that'll bother him. Keep an eye on him at all times." instructed Eda.

"Sure. Come on Maxie, I know where the bathroom is." said King leading Maxwell.

Maxwell followed King as the little demon warrior lead him to where a bathroom would located. The young boy stuck with King like his life was depending on it. King went down a walk way and there was a port-a-john or more, several of them where some were for the males and females. King lead him to one that was for the boys. He knocked on the door and no one was in there.

"Listen big guy, I know this is not your first idea to use it but it's the only bathroom around. All yours, big boy." said King kindly.

"Please let it be clean in there." said Maxwell hopefully.

He went into the port-a-john and King closed the door for him. A minute or two had passed and King heard a relaxed sigh coming from inside.

"You need toilet paper, Maxie?" called King.

"Plenty of it in here already, thank you." called Maxwell.

Another few minutes later and Maxwell came out and closed the door. He smiled and looked relaxed.

"Thanks for leading me here in time, King. And man it was good they got air fresheners in there, scent of strawberries." said Maxwell looking relieved.

"Come on, big guy, lets get you back to the girls." said King as he lead the way.

Maxwell followed King back but along the way, he heard music that sounded familiar to him. As he followed King, the sound of the music got louder till they were close by to where Eda's stand was at. Maxwell saw what looked like three young male teenage wizards that looked like they were trying to find the right musical beat with some instruments.

"Guys, that one is not the right tune." said one of them.

Maxwell walked over to them and King suddenly saw him wandering off. He was trying to get his attention.

"Maxie, where you going? Your not suppose to wander off." King called out.

King suddenly followed him as Maxwell ignored him. Maxwell made his way over to the three male wizards and they looked right at him as he approached them.

"You guys need assistance?" asked Maxwell.

"Not right now, dude. Unless you know how to get the right tune for music." said one of them.

"Want me to? You just need to tweak the strings a bit." suggested Maxwell.

The three boys listened and they obeyed as they tweaked the tune and started to play a note yet the tune their instruments played sounded better. They looked thrilled.

"That's sounding better. Hey kid, you know a good song we can rock out to?" asked another one of them.

"I know one of them but it's hard rock." warned Maxwell.

"Challenge accepted." they said.

They suddenly pulled him in near them which King saw this and he went over to go inform Eda and Luz. The teenagers with the instruments started to play a soft hard rock tune and Maxwell felt like something came over him as if the music was giving him a confidence boost.

"Let's rock this joint." said Maxwell.

Some other people started to see this and looked like they were interested. Maxwell took the lead as his singing voice turned out to be getting the attention or many others as he turned out to be a good singer.

_"Another head hangs lowly, child is slowly taken. And the violence causes silence, who are we mistaken?"_

The musical beat got louder as more people saw this and were starting to like it. A pair of black sunglasses appeared on Maxwell's face as he continued to sing his beautiful voice.

_"But you see, it's not me. It's not my family, in your head, in your head, they are fighting. With their tanks, and their bombs and their bombs, and their drones. In your head, in your head, they are crying."_

The musical tune got soft for a minute but quickly got louder and the rest of the male teens joined in on singing with him.

_"What's in your he-e-ad, in your he-e-ad? Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie. What's in your he-e-ad, in your he-e-ead? Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie-ie, oh."_

The crowd that watched them were cheering them on and rocking out to the music and the song as they were doing pretty good with Maxwell as the song got to a softer tune and Maxwell took the lead again.

_"Another mother's breaking heart is taking oveeeer. When the violence causes silence. We must be mistakeeeeen."_

The musical tune got louder again as the guitar music got louder. Maxwell's singing got louder.

_"It's the same old theme, in two thousand eighteen. In your head, in your head, they're still fighting. With their tanks, and their bombs and their guns, and their drones. In your head, in your head, they are dying."_

The musical tune got soft but than got louder as the rest of them sang together while some of them with long hair waved their long hair around at times.

_"What's in your heeead, in your heeeead? Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie. What's in your heeead, in your heeeead? Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie-ie, oh."_

The one playing the guitar played a beautiful guitar solo that got them cheering more and louder but eventually got softer and it looked like they were liking the music more.

_"It's the same old theme, in two thousand eighteen. In your head, in your head, they are dying."_

The tune got soft for a minute but than got louder as the guitar tune got louder too as they joined in on the singing.

_"What's in your heaaaad, in your heaaaad? Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie. What's in your heeeead, in your heeeead? Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie-ie, oh. Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh yeah you, ahhhhhh."_

The song's tune eventually got softer and was fading away and ended as everyone cheered for them. The crowd applauded for them and eventually left to go back to what they were doing.

"They loved it." said one of the wizard teens.

"Hey kiddo, can you give us your name or what?" asked one of the teens.

"Maxwell Logan!" came Eda's voice.

Maxwell's sense of confidence suddenly disappeared faster than crowd disappeared. He looked towards where Eda stood and she was ten feet away from him and the wizard teens. The sunglasses he had on disappeared like a puff of smoke. Eda had a serious look on her face and her hands rested on her hips with her hands clenched like fists as she came over to him.

"Maxwell, you went to use the toilet and your now socializing with punk rockers. What's going on here?" said Eda sounding serious.

Maxwell hung his head in shame as he suspected he was going to yelled at while Eda was waiting for someone to say something.

"Ma'am, it wasn't his fault." said one of the wizard teens.

Eda's expression changed and she looked surprised.

"Yeah, we kind of pressured him into it when he gave us some assistance with our musical tune. He was only helping us out but he's not to blame, we kind of pressured him into it." said another teen.

"Well, than you three know pressuring someone younger than you is wrong, right? Just don't do it again, he's been through enough." stated Eda.

"Yes ma'am." said the three male teens.

The three boys took the blame for Maxwell so he wouldn't get into trouble which Maxwell didn't expect that.

"Come on Maxie, lets head back and don't wander off, okay?" said Eda as she lead the way.

Maxwell followed Eda as he hung his head in shame as he walked beside her. Eda looked right at him and had a look of concerned worry as she felt she might have been too harsh.

"Maxie, I'm sorry I got harsh on you back there. You feeling alright?" Eda apologized to Maxwell.

"Yes, forgive me but I was afraid you were going yell at me." said Maxwell sadly.

"Well for one, that's the last thing you need. I don't want you to feel hurt and I don't want anyone to negatively influence you ether." said Eda kindly.

Hearing that made him feel a bit better and the feeling of shame disappeared.

"I'm sorry for wandering off." apologized Maxwell.

"It's alright, kiddo. Also, I knew you didn't do anything wrong, I only put on that look to sweat the truth out of those boys." admitted Eda.

He looked up and looked surprised to hear that. He felt like that Eda was actually consoling him which she really was doing so.

"I did see how you rocked out with the music and I didn't know you had a good voice in music." said Eda with a grin as she gently brushed her fist against his right shoulder.

Maxwell let out a loud hiccup, blushed deeply and he let out a nervous giggle. They made it back to the stand. Luz and King stood there and waved at them.

"On a plus side, where ever you found that bag you placed on the stand, we made a killing, big time." Eda told him with a grin.

Eda pulled Maxwell close and smooched him on his cheeks, leaving him wide eyed with surprise, blushing as deep as he ever did and he fainted on the ground as he looked dizzy. Leaving Eda, Luz and King to look on in surprise.

"Was that a little too much for him?" asked Eda.

"A little bit." said Luz.

Eda bent over to pick up Maxwell and she carried him into the large tent behind them.

"He'll be alright, he just needs to lay down." said Eda reassuring them.

Eda laid him down on what looked like a coat bed inside the big tent and walked back out.

"He's just a little overwhelmed, poor little guy." said Eda.

"Maxie is like looking after a little kid. Lets hope the girls don't tickle him and pinch his cheeks." giggled King. "Just kidding, guys."

Luz reached out to gently scratch King's back which caused him to shake and feel relaxed. Eda felt better that King told her where Maxwell was and they were glad he was alright. While in the tent, Maxwell was asleep from the looks of it but his eyes opened as his eyes were glowing bright white. A memory flashed inside his head as he saw a pale skinned and thin woman with long black hair, looking like she had a hold of his arm and was pulling him harshly with a hurtful grip.

_"Stop squirming and do as your told."_ said the lady harshly.

_"After what you did to me, no way. I don't want to go."_ said Maxwell looking stricken with fear in his memory. _"Or maybe I should tell everyone what you did to me."_

The dark haired lady stopped and looked really irate.

_"Don't you dare."_ she warned.

Maxwell grunted and with a strong pull, he broke free of the lady's grip and ran off while that dark haired lady who had the aquamarine eyes and wore darker colored clothing chased after him by flying towards him on her staff like it was a witch's broom.

_"If you tell them what I did, you'll be so sorry."_ yelled the lady sharply.

_"Go away or I'm telling everyone."_ Maxwell yelled back.

_"Always doing things the hard way."_ said the lady as she flew towards him.

Maxwell suddenly disappeared in a puff of gold smoke as he teleported away from the lady. She stopped and saw he was nowhere.

_"I'll get you sooner or later, that power of yours is mine. If you tell anyone what I did, you'll face my wrath!"_ called out the lady.

The memory in Maxwell's head went black and he jerked awake, his eyes were normal again as he gasped in fear.

"Lilith." said Maxwell.

He passed out once again as the memory in his head went to black.


	5. Chapter 5

Eda, Luz, King and Maxwell arrived at the owl house as they got to the door of the house. Eda knocked on the door as Hooty saw them.

"Did we set a password or did we not?" asked Hooty.

"No time for that and no, we did not. So open up, Hooty." answered Eda looking a bit impatient.

"Alright. But lets not freak out Maxwell." said Hooty as the door opened.

Maxwell wondered what he meant but he saw Hooty's mouth open up to the point where his whole mouth was the door that opened. Luz and King were the first ones in and Maxwell was a bit nervous seeing this.

"Don't worry Maxie, this is just how we enter the owl house." called Luz from inside.

Maxwell seemed to understand but he was still nervous as Eda walked inside with him and he closed his eyes as they went in and Hooty's mouth closed till it was showing nothing but the whole door and he let out a burp. They saw Maxwell was going to take time to get used to this just like Luz.

"You can open your eyes now, Maxie. It's safe in here." reassured Eda.

Maxwell opened his eyes and he saw he was inside the living room of the owl house. He let out a sigh of relief.

"How did Eda find me when I, well, you know, wandered off?" asked Maxwell as he felt a little embarrassed to admit it.

"I went to go tell Eda." King admitted blushing. "But I only did that because I knew if something happened to you, I wouldn't be able to pull you away on my own. That and I knew Eda would scare the sweat out of them teenage boys but I was only trying to make sure you didn't get into trouble."

"It's alright, you were just looking out for me." said Maxwell kindly forgiving him.

Luz smiled and pulled King into a hug as she kissed him on his cheek which King was squirming a bit but stopped afterwards.

"Your so cute when you care about others." Luz told King in a cute voice.

"I know." answered King.

Maxwell saw that this is probably what is normal in families that treat each other with unconditional love which he's seen but sensed he never knew if everyone was like that.

"Maxie, when you wandered off, were you distracted by those boys music?" asked Eda.

"A little." admitted Maxwell. "Their music sounded familiar and I just liked the sound of it. But I know I shouldn't have done that."

"It's alright Max, we're just glad your still in one piece and not five or six pieces." said Luz feeling better knowing that.

Luz came over to Maxwell and pulled him in for a hug as she patted his back and it caused Maxwell to feel a sense of comfort and security which Luz pulled her arms off him afterwards.

"Max, you once said you had a bag on you. Was that one at the market place the bag?" asked Luz curiously.

"No, that wasn't it. I stumbled upon it before I came into this world. The bag I had, well, I dropped it. I wanted to go back for it but it got too risky for me to go back and get it." explained Maxwell.

"Where'd you drop it?" asked Eda.

Maxwell fell silent for a minute and knew that they were going to ask him that eventually but didn't expect it to be so soon.

"Promise me you won't get mad at me?" said Maxwell fidgeting his fingers.

"Why would I get mad?" asked Eda looking confused.

He was silent a bit and let out a sigh.

"It's at Hexside. I saw someone there that I knew was bad news and when I tried to get out of there without being seen, I got caught and I ran. But I don't know where at that place I dropped it." explained Maxwell looking at his feet.

Eda let out a sigh and looked annoyed but she sort of felt like his bag would be somewhere that could be dangerous.

"I was afraid of that. What was in your bag, by the way?" said Eda looking curious.

"Extra pairs of clothes, a bucket hat, a notebook, a pendant necklace of a cross and by cross I mean crucifix, a couple of hair combs, a hair brush, tooth brush, nail clippers, and unfortunately, my ID is in there." answered Maxwell.

They half expected some of that to be in his bag but they didn't know he had something like his ID in there. Maxwell felt that one of them would be curious about it.

"We're going to have to find that bag." said Luz breaking the silence.

"Are you sure about that? Remember your last encounter there?" said Eda remembering Luz's first visit there.

"I know. But if anyone we know is dangerous finds his bag, they'll find his ID and than anyone whose an enemy probably might recognize him and pick him off or use one of us to get to him. Remember how Adeghast used me to get to you?" said Luz reminding Eda of a previous incident.

Eda remembered that time and she knew that Luz was right, even if she was worried about them being anywhere near the school after Luz went there for the first time.

"Alright, but no one goes anywhere alone while there. King, you'll have to go with them. You all understand that?" said Eda.

"Understood." they all said.

They took a look at Maxwell and saw he wasn't too thrilled about the idea from the look on his face.

"I don't want you guys put yourself in hot water because of me. Maybe we should just forget about it." said Maxwell not liking the idea.

"Don't worry Maxwell, I'll be with you the whole time, besides, I know a couple kids there that could help us." Luz reassured him.

Maxwell looked at Luz and was surprised that she knew other people within the area.

"You made some friends at the school?" said Maxwell.

"Two of them, Willow and Gus. You'll like them, they're really nice kids." answered Luz.

Maxwell was surprised but he was also a bit out of place with that as he felt alone when he first came to the boiling isles. Luz could tell that he might not know anyone.

"Did you have any friends back in the human world?" asked Luz curiously.

"No. I didn't have time to. I was one of them smarter kids who went through school so fast." admitted Maxwell as if embarrassed. "Besides, they just saw me as farm boy who they were surprised had a brain when they believed if your from the south, than your head is empty as a flower pot."

Luz really felt for Maxwell, knowing she didn't have any friends back home and she was considered a weird person. King really felt for him as he knew that he was different. Eda felt for him as she sensed he had no one or didn't have much in his life, just like how they all came together as friends.

"Max, your not dumb and just because your a southerner, doesn't make you a farm boy. Besides, people from the south are good people. Just like you." said Luz reassuring him.

This made Maxwell feel a bit better knowing that as he felt a sense of comfort around Luz. He had no idea why he felt that way but he felt like he was able to tell her anything.

"That's kind of you tell me that." said Maxwell.

Luz embraced him in a hug to reassure him which worked. She hugged him a bit tighter which caused him to groan in a bit of pain.

"Luz, can't breathe. Too tight, too tight." said Maxwell weakly.

She loosened her grip and he was able to breathe in and out properly.

"When you guys go over to Hexside, try not to let any enemies see you there. King, you keep an eye on them two." instructed Eda.

"Okay, just don't throw any wild parties." joked King.

"Are they always like this?" asked Maxwell.

"Yeah, but they care for each other. Sometimes a bit of humor is in the mix." answered Luz.

He understood and they all knew what the plan was for tomorrow. They had to get Maxwell's bag back without any enemies catching them. Eda didn't know who to be more worried for. Luz, King or Maxwell.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day had come and Luz, King and Maxwell were walking down a trail that was leading them to where they were headed. Luz was feeling a bit cautious but a bit excited to possibly see more magic, King was keeping alert but Maxwell was feeling nervous about this.

"Where did you last see your bag at Hexside?" asked Luz.

"Somewhere on the grounds of the campus. I dropped it while I tried to get away. Someone saw I wasn't student and wanted to question me but I was afraid they'd hurt me so I took off." answered Maxwell.

"Well Maxie, no worries. We'll find your bag, even if I have to tickle a smile on you." said King with a bit of humor as he giggled.

Maxwell blushed at the thought of being tickled as if King was trying to make him laugh but the young human male didn't have a reason to laugh right now. Maxwell was hanging onto any word that they could say that'll give him a comforting word as they were going to get him his bag back.

"Are we almost there?" asked Maxwell.

"Nope, I remember which way to go." answered Luz.

As they walked down the trail, Maxwell looked up and stopped himself as he almost bumped into someone and it was a young plump female teenager as they stopped. The plump female had glasses on her face. There was a young male teenager with her who was looking to be African American if he were human.

"Willow, Gus." said Luz with a smile.

"Luz." they said in unison.

Luz, Gus and Willow greeted each other in a group hug as they felt happy to meet again. After they pulled themselves off, both Gus and Willow turned to see Maxwell. Maxwell felt his heart race a bit from feeling meek.

"Wow! You brought another human with you." said Gus looking surprised.

"Actually, we found him. This is Maxwell." said Luz introducing Maxwell to them.

Maxwell blushed deeper as he wasn't feeling very confident in himself as he quickly pulled out what looked like a sensu fan that he had in his the sleeve of his shirt and used it to cover his face, he had taken it out so fast like he drew out a sword. Gus and Willow were a bit surprised by this that they could easily sense what this reaction was.

"Maxwell, relax. My friends won't bite." Luz tried to reassure him.

"Willow, formerly doing abomination spells and now doing plant magic, still learning magic, even though your parents forced you to take a course you were not into at first. Augustus, also known as Gus, doing illusionist magic and having something to do with human appreciation club at the school, even though you do your best and worry about others close to you." said Maxwell.

Willow and Gus were surprised to hear this as if they met a fortune teller but Maxwell was no fortune teller.

"I take it Luz told you about us?" guessed Gus.

"Only your names, but your minds are not a closed book." said Maxwell nervously.

"No way. He can read minds?" said Willow looking excited.

Luz informed Willow and Gus about how Maxwell wasn't born with that power but that Maxwell had no idea where he got it from as she told them things got weird for him since he met a mysterious man. They understood with a nod.

"And with that cute accent, he's a southerner. I hear southerners a friendly people." said Willow.

"Is Maxwell alright, though?" asked Gus.

"Maxwell's nervous about meeting new people. We found him when he got attacked by a demonic clown that tried to kill him." explained King.

"Oh? I'm so sorry." said Gus and Willow in unison.

"Nothing to worry about. You two didn't do anything wrong." said Maxwell as his voice shook a bit.

Willow reached her hand out to Maxwell and she placed her hand on his right shoulder as if to show a sign of trust. Maxwell slowly closed his sensu fan and saw Willow showing him a sympathetic look which he felt a bit better from knowing there is a reason to trust these new people.

"For a male human, he's kind of big for his age." stated Willow.

"People once said I got taller faster than a bottle rocket blasting into the sky on fourth of July." Maxwell stated as he felt less nervous.

"Are you two, well, you know? Dating?" asked Gus hesitantly.

"No! Not really, no." said Luz blushing.

"What Luz said." Maxwell responded.

They understood and quickly knew that they probably shouldn't of asked that as it made things awkward.

"So what brings you guys out here?" asked Gus changing the subject.

"Maxwell and I may need some assistance getting into Hexside without getting noticed." answered Luz.

Luz explained to Willow and Gus that they needed to retrieve Maxwell's bag as it had his ID in there and anyone could target him or his friends if they get to it before they do as they understood Maxwell accidently dropped it while trying to escape.

"Oh, so why were you at Hexside?" asked Willow.

"I thought someone could help me as I didn't know any safe places out here. That was before I found out how humans are viewed here. I stumbled upon this world through a portal when I was run." Maxwell stopped for a moment. "When I got lost on my way."

"You remember where you last saw it?" asked Gus curiously.

"Somewhere outside school. I'd like it back but I'm afraid we'll get picked off like road kill if we are seen there." said Maxwell hanging his head down.

"We can help with finding your bag, but we're going to have to sneak you guys in." Willow advised.

Maxwell looked up at them with a look of excitement on his face.

"Thank you and the lord." said Maxwell.

Without warning, Maxwell hugged Willow and she smiled as she hugged him back. But Maxwell soon snapped back to reality and he blushed deeply again after they released their arms from each other.

"I hope that wasn't too emotional of me." said Maxwell with a slight cough.

"Nothing to worry about, I love to give affection to those who need it." reassured Willow.

Willow and Gus lead the way as they had Luz, King and Maxwell follow them. They knew they had to sneak Luz and Maxwell into the school without being recognized, but they started thinking of ideas. But from a distance, someone glimpsed them and it was a young female teenager with green hair and a stoic look on her face.


	7. Chapter 7

Luz, King, Maxwell, Gus and Willow arrived at Hexside but they were hiding behind some bushes nearby as they were not too far away from the grounds as many of the students were hanging around the school.

"Maxwell, can you see where you dropped your bag?" asked Willow.

Maxwell looked from a distance and saw the spot he remembers that he dropped it and it wasn't there. He let out a groan.

"I don't see it. Someone must of taken it." said Maxwell disappointed. "Maybe one of the teachers has it."

"Actually, we remember that someone announced that there was a misplaced bag on campus but it was kept in the lost and found office." Gus said.

Luz and Maxwell shook their heads and knew this was going to get harder.

"How will we get passed everyone? I got banned and I am on a poster with my face on it." said Luz as she remembered her first time visiting there.

"We could try a potion that temporarily disguises you two?" Willow suggested.

"That sounds cool." said Luz looking interested.

"I'd rather not." said Maxwell disagreeing.

They looked at him with a surprised look. Luz and the rest of them wondered if he tried one before and hated it but they had no idea if he did.

"Why not a potion?" said Luz.

"We don't know what's in it. Maybe Willow and Gus know it but we're only kids." answered Maxwell.

"The positions are safe. They taste like soda pop." reassured Gus.

Willow pulled out two small vials that had a orange liquid in them. She handed on of them to Luz and the other to Maxwell. Maxwell wasn't so sure about this but he knew any other ideas might be just as risky.

"It's alright, Maxie." said Luz reassuring him.

"Okay, but just don't tell us what's in it because if one of us pukes, stand clear." warned Maxwell.

Luz and Maxwell pulled the stoppers off the vials and placed them to their lips as they downed them. The liquid didn't taste bad ether, it tasted like what Gus told them. They swallowed the whole vials down.

"Alright, but if anything goes wrong with this, please don't let us die." Maxwell requested.

"It's going to be alright, Maxwell. Nothing to worry about." Willow kindly told him.

He was taking in deep breaths as he prepared for anything dangerous but all Luz and Maxwell felt was tingling all over as their ears formed to be pointed. Luz's eyes turned yellow while Maxwell's eyes turned gold, their finger nails formed to look sharper looking while Maxwell's hair turned dark and Luz's hair turned blonde and grew long enough to reach her shoulders. Their transformations stopped and they looked at each other. Maxwell looked like he was of Japanese descent from the transformation while Luz looked like she was the same descent as Willow from the transformation.

"Wow! That's cool." they said with a smile.

"The potion will last about an hour before you turned back into your real forms." warned Willow.

"We don't have much time. First sign of trouble, ether we get some ideas to distract them or we book it out of here." stated King.

They walked out from the bushes and into the crowd of students as it looked like they were all hanging out after school. Some of the students saw them and some of the female students saw Maxwell as they waved at him with a grin as he did look handsome, but he ignored them.

"Guys, those girls over there are staring at me and it might draw attention to us." whispered Maxwell.

Maxie's getting the girls." whispered King jokingly.

The admiring girls nearby kept looking at Maxwell while he had no idea what possessed him to do this but he smiled back at them, gave them a wink and smile while them teenage girls nearby nearly fell over as they thought they got some attention from a hot guy. Than Maxwell turned away as they got closer to the entrance of the school.

"Are you guys sure it's in the lost and found office?" whispered Luz.

"Lets hope so." said Gus.

They made it inside the school and walked down the hallway as many other students were hanging out inside but not as much as outside. Maxwell saw the inside of the school and was surprised to even be in one as if he hadn't been in one in so long.

"It's been a while since I was last in a school when I graduated." said Maxwell feeling a bit out of place.

"From what Willow and Gus showed me, this is not like the schools in our world. Stick with us and stay close." advised Luz.

Maxwell understood as Willow and Gus lead them to where they needed to be. They went down hallways and had gone left and right, right to left till they found the door that had the "Lost and Found" lettering on the door.

"The door is probably locked. So how do we get in?" asked Luz.

Just as they were discussing on how they can get the door open, an idea popped into Maxwell's head as he smiled and snapped his fingers once as he suddenly walked through the door as if he were a ghost. They quickly saw him go through it and looked thrilled.

Maxwell was inside the office room and he saw many inspirational signs hanging on the walls. He expected to see something that kept items in there but didn't see it.

"There's got to be a box or a closet in here that they put everything inside of." said Maxwell.

To his luck, he found a big chest like box and it looked old but polished. He grinned and walked up to it but his excitement was short lived as he saw a big lock on it and the key was nowhere to be seen. But than he remembered something as he had his hand go through the chest like he were a ghost and felt around for his bag.

"Nope, that one isn't it, almost." he grunted.

Maxwell felt something made of nylon fibers and he felt the strap. His grin coming back as he pulled the bag out of the chest and he pulled out a black backpack that he remembered.

"Back where it belongs." he said.

Maxwell got up and he walked through the door like he did before as Luz, King, Willow and Gus saw him come out.

"Now that is so cool." said Luz looking amazed.

"The friendly ghost has nothing on me." said Maxwell in triumph. "Thanks for getting me and Luz into the school to get my bag."

"No problem." said Gus with a grin.

"I see we have another human here." came a female's voice that had no emotion.

They all froze and turned to see the green haired teenage girl that they didn't see at first. She had her arms crossed and tapped her foot a bit.

"Amity Blight." said Maxwell.

Everyone looked shocked to see Maxwell know her name when they never told him about her. Amity was looking like she had the impatient "I'm waiting" look on her face. She didn't look amused which knowing her, they knew she never was. They tried to remain cool.

"What makes you think we snuck humans into the school again?" asked Willow.

"I've been watching you since you lead them to the school, you used a transformation potion on them, even though one of them was afraid to go through with it." admitted Amity as she was right.

They may not have looked like it but on the inside, they were feeling their hearts race from how she knew what they were doing and knew she would most likely tell a teacher, or worse, the principal.

"We have a good reason. Our friend dropped his bag here and we were retrieving it for him." explained Gus.

"And another human that might be learning magic when he probably can't. I've seen him quivering in fear before like a terrified baby clinging to his mother for comfort, with how big he is, I was thinking he might be tougher." mocked Amity.

Luz saw that Maxwell blushed and looked disappointed as the poor boy let out a sigh of sadness. She was looking angry with Amity.

"Leave him alone, Amity. What has he done to you? You don't know him, he can learn magic, he's shown he knows some of it and you have no right to talk to him like that." Luz defended Maxwell.

Maxwell looked up and was feeling a sense of confidence. He felt like no one has ever stuck up for him.

"I may have seen him do some magic but I'd like to see him give me a reason to keep my mouth shut about what you all are doing." Amity snapped back.

They all knew she would rat someone out without hesitation. Luz was thinking of ideas on what to do to keep Amity from telling on them. A bit of anger kicked into Maxwell as he gave Amity a very cold look.

"Amity Bartholemew Blight. Does mostly magic with Abomination crafting and summoning, an arrogant bully to everyone around her, prefers to be top student but if someone else is top student, you go insane in the brain with rage. You once did a witches duel with Luz but it ended in a draw as you were used for cheating by Lilith, even though you are against cheating. You have a big mouth that never closes. You put so much pressure on yourself that you don't want anyone to see your softer side because really, you never got to be a normal kid like everyone else because of the pressure that's on, when you desire to be normal." said Maxwell.

Amity's expression faded and she was wide eyed, surprised about this.

"How did you?"

"Your mind isn't a closed book, that's for sure." said Maxwell with a grin.

"Your middle name is Bartholemew?" said Gus trying not to laugh.

"I didn't know Bartholemew was a girls name." said Willow as she giggled.

"It isn't." said Amity with a growl.

They all giggled and were seeing that Maxwell revealed to them Amity's embarrassing middle name but the giggling was short lived as Maxwell's smile faded.

"Amity, I'm warning you. Don't have anything to do with Lilith. She's bad news, if she used you to cheat and lost because of it, imagine what worse she could do if you let her do again." warned Maxwell as if helping her.

They all went silent. How did Maxwell know Eda's sister? They had no idea but were curious. Luz and King were surprised by this as they've met her before and knew Lilith was bad news as well.

"Maxie, did you happen to cross paths with Lilith?" asked King curiously.

"I'm not saying anything about it. At least not here." warned Maxwell sternly.

Maxwell made a cracking sound with his neck and cracked his knuckles as he had a serious look on his face. They knew he wasn't kidding nor was he joking.

"Amity, why don't you keep your mouth shut about this and I won't tell anyone at school your middle name, or that you got used for cheating in a witches duel or just imagine the whole time this human male who knows where you go to school and wonder if he puts something in your drink that makes you asleep for an hour and wonder if he shaves your head, while your asleep, and it has to grow back slowly without magic?" threatened Maxwell with a smug grin. "Sweet dreams, princess."

Amity looked shocked that someone she was tormenting was not only standing up to her but that he would blackmail her with what he knows about her and would blab it to everyone at the school. Maxwell mimicked the sound of an electric shaver, leaving a shocked look of fear on Amity's face yet it changed to anger.

"Don't you dare!" Amity warned.

"Would you like a Mohawk or a buzz cut? Or would you rather have the school know you got a boy's name for a middle name?" said Maxwell looking smug. "I hear some kids coming and they love to blab it all."

"Alright, alright! I'll keep my mouth shut!" said Amity backing down. "Just don't call me princess."

"Just so you don't say a word of this to anyone, you'll be escorting us outside and make sure no one finds out we're humans in disguise or that anyone snuck us in here." said Luz crossing her arms.

"Alright, but I'm only doing this because he might blab if I don't." Amity crossed her arms.

They all walked down the hallway while they made it to the outside of the school and as they were outside, more girls nearby were waving and admiring Maxwell from a distance. Maxwell kept his cool but on the inside, he was feeling nervous.

"Seems like Maxwell might be more popular." said Luz gently bumping her elbow against him.

"The top students are mostly the popular ones." grumbled Amity.

"I'll bet Maxie can be more popular than you." snapped King.

"I'd take that bet." dared Amity. "Show me what you got."

Something kicked into Maxwell and he smiled, looking like he had an idea that popped into his head. He pulled what look like a portable music radio, he strapped it to his belt as he handed his bag to Luz.

"You asked for it, princess." Maxwell teased Amity.

"King, this is not a good idea. Maxwell, wait a minute." Luz tried to stop him.

Maxwell ignored Luz as he suddenly turned the radio on and all the students outside could hear the music playing on his radio as they all saw he looked like he was a possible performer. The students were suspecting he was a party planner and a performer. The musical tune sounded like pop rock music as he waves to everyone and spoke in Japanese "Soko ni iru subete no on'nanoko no pātītaimu"

The music got loud enough for all to hear as the students looked like they smiled and were about to get a free musical show. They all found out he had a powerful singing voice which Luz, King, Gus and Willow were shocked and amazed to see.

_"Don't stop, Don't stop, we're in luck now. Don't stop, there's so much to be found. We can find paradise, all we have to do is go, go! Free your soul!"_

Maxwell's singing voice was so powerful that it was like hearing the voice of a God of peace. The rock music even had an electric guitar musical tune to it.

_"Mysteries abound, made up a deep energy"_

_"Energy"_ joined some of the kids as if they were like a chorus.

_"Foes all around, but I will go fearless and free. I'll give you strength, you give me love, thats how we'll live."_

When he said who gave him strength, he pointed to out to Willow and Gus, when he said who gave him love, he pointed out to Luz and King which made them all blush but feel a sense of pride while the students cheered.

_"That's how we'll live"_ sang the students in the chorus.

_"My courage won't fade, if you're with me my enemies can never win."_

When he said who he would be with when his courage won't fade, he pointed out to not just all the girls but to Luz. It like he was hitting on all the girls. Amity was burning with envy as everyone was loving his performance.

_"We will fight for love and glory. We will live to tell the story. There is nothing we can't live through. Nothing ever dies, we will rise agaaaaain!"_

His voice was sounding like it got stronger as this kept going while his body was starting to glow a gold light all over, he shot out what looked like a huge gold spark from his mouth and it went up into the sky and sparks exploded like he shot a firework into the sky. Luz and King saw this but as much as they wanted to warn him, they knew they had to make sure they don't blow their cover but they were amazed at how Maxwell could sing this way. The musical guitar tune got powerfully louder.

_"Don't stop, Don't stop, we're in luck now. Don't stop, keep your spirit proud. And ride upon the wind. All we have to do is gooooo! Don't stop, Don't stop, we're in luck now. Don't stop, there's so much to be found. We can find paradise, all we have to do is go, go! Free your sooooooul. Dragon Soooooul!"_

When they heard him sing out "Dragon Soul" his voice was more powerful than ever as the music was getting powerful and the crowd of students were cheering for this as Luz, King, Gus and Willow cheered him on as well. The rock music got a little lighter but was still at a loud volume.

_"Mysteries abound, in this world that we will see"_

_"That we will see"_ some of the students sang out.

_"Foes all around but I will go fearless and free! I'll give you strength, you give me love, that's we will live"_

_"That's how we live"_ sang out more students.

_"My courage won't fade, if you're with me my enemies can never win"_

When he said his enemies will never win, an image of Amity floated near him and everyone saw him give the image of her the hand which made the image disappear. Amity was wide eyed as she got dissed by a human.

_"We will fight for love and glory. We will live to tell the story. There is nothing we can't live through, nothing ever dies, we will rise agaaaain!"_

As Maxwell's voice got to a powerful tune, the music got louder and more powerful as the students couldn't get enough of this. Many of them did a little dance to this. Luz and King were starting to feel a strange happiness for him, as if they found out what gives Maxwell confidence and bravery in him.

_"Don't stop, Don't stop, we're in luck now. Don't stop, keep your spirit proud. And ride upon the wind. All we have to do is goooooo! Don't stop, Don't stop, we're in luck now. Don't stop, there's so much to be found. We can find paradise. All we have to do is go, go! Free your soul. Dragon Sooouuul!"_

The music was looking like it was at a powerful melody as Maxwell jumped into the air and he jumped over forty feet into the air, surprising everyone. The electric guitar tune was at a melody that had to be a solo as Maxwell floated up there and was blasting gold light through his finger tips and they launched into the air and exploded into the sky in sparks like fireworks. Than he flew down to the ground and landed on his feet like it was nothing.

"What's going on here" came a loud male's voice.

The students, along with Luz, King, Willow, Gus, Amity and Maxwell stopped as Maxwell turned his radio off. The music died as fast as the party stopped. The person that interrupted the fun was none other than Principal Bump. He was looking at Maxwell with an evil grin.

"Not him." said Maxwell looking terrified. "Not him again."

Principle Bump was coming towards him while Maxwell suddenly spoke to only Luz, King, Willow and Gus through his mind.

_"Luz, King, Willow, Gus. Help me, keep that man away from me. He was the one the chased after me."_ Maxwell told them through his mind.

Luz, King, Willow and Gus went to stand by his side. As Principle Bump made his way to them. Principle Bump made his way towards Luz, King, Maxwell, Willow and Gus as he looked determined to get information out of them like a cop interrogating suspects.

"School may be over for the day but I can hear that loud music from my office. Whose the delinquent whose playing such music?" Principle Bump called out.

Everyone kept their mouths closed as he now stood in front of Luz, King, Willow, Gus and Maxwell. He had a serious look on his face as he stared them down.

"The boy with the long, dark hair. Was it you who snuck on campus and played that noise?" asked Principle Bump.

Maxwell was silent as his courage and confidence just died. They were silent and told him nothing.

"Hmmm. Maybe if I took one of the kids to my office and you'll loosen your lips." threatened Principle Bump.

He looked at Luz as he smiled with determination.

"Maybe you should come with me?" advised Principle Bump.

Luz was starting to look afraid and she backed up a bit. Maxwell didn't like seeing that as a fit of defiant rage kicked in him.

"Don't you touch her, motherfucker!" shouted Maxwell.

Everyone had gasped as Maxwell said a swear word directed at the principle. Luz, King, Gus and Willow blushed from this. As Principle Bump turned towards him, it was Maxwell who started to think of ideas to distract him.

"Are you admitting the truth?" asked Principle Bump looking smug. "Such a dirty mouth."

"A gentlemen doesn't strike a lady." said Maxwell defiantly. "You sir are no gentlemen. Just an evil man with an ego as big as your ass."

The students burst out in a slight laughter but tried to make it look like a cough. Principle Bump's smile faded and showed anger.

"What did you say to me?" asked Principle Bump rhetorically.

"Principle Bump, the man with a huge rump. More like Principle Big Ass Rump." insulted Maxwell.

The students couldn't control it no more and they laughed at the joke he made. Luz, King, Willow and Gus smiled as they couldn't believe someone was insulting the principle to his face. Even though they didn't approve of language like that.

"It's not that big." Principle Bump snapped back.

"And you could write "Good Year" on it." joked Maxwell.

The students couldn't hold back their laughter no more and Principle Bump was looking furious as he was looking red in the face. He clenched his fist and took a swing at Maxwell which blocked it by taking hold of his fist with his strong hand. The second they made physical contact, the memory of Maxwell first being around the campus of the school flashed inside their heads and the person who saw him and wanted to question him was Principle Bump himself. The memory faded away after Maxwell pushed Principle Bump three feet away from him. The look of fear was upon Maxwell's face.

"Your the human who I saw last time. And you and that female human are disguise." called out Principle Bump.

Everyone was gasping out loud and they didn't know if they should be shocked that two humans were on campus or to do something to help them or to run. Luz, King, Willow and Gus hugged Maxwell as if to form a protective wall around him. Maxwell had one more idea in mind. Maxwell told Principle Bump something in his mind.

_"Thanks for giving me my bag back, Bump Rump."_ he told Principle Bump with his mind.

Hearing that had enraged Principle Bump and without warning, a puff of gold smoke appeared around Maxwell and his friends.

"Run everyone, Principle Bump's rump is going to fart fire out his fat ass." called out Maxwell.

Within a second, all the students there ran and they cleared out of there really fast. The smoke cleared and Maxwell and his friends were gone. Principle Bump screamed in a fit of rage.

Somewhere far away from the school was where Luz, King, Willow, Gus and Maxwell appeared and Maxwell was shaking with fear as if shocked at what he did. Maxwell and Luz returned to their normal forms.

"That was epic!" said Luz looking thrilled.

"No one has ever had the courage to stand up to Principle Bump like that." said Gus looking excited. "Bump with a big rump, he'll never live that one down."

"Maxwell, you actually got the crowd going for you, big time." said Willow as she looked towards him.

They all looked towards Maxwell and he had a shocked, wide eyed look on his face as if he was in disbelief. Their thrilled looks turned to worry and concern.

"Maxie, everything alright, big guy?" asked King curiously.

As Luz still had Maxwell's bag, the young human male shook a bit from his hands and arms.

"Two young students snuck us into Hexside to get my bag, you guys risked your lives to help me, stood up to a bully, rocked out to a good beat, and made the principle a laughing stock by making his name into a joke and I cursed him out." said Maxwell looking surprised.

They were surprised to hear him say this but they were confused by the smile that spread across his face as he looked like he was about to start laughing.

"And that was the best time of my life!" said Maxwell triumphantly.

They were shocked to see Maxwell laughing for the first time they've met him. He beat his chest like a gorilla and looked up at the sky.

"Yes, I stood up to someone and I like it! How you like me now, father!" called out Maxwell.

"Has he ever rebelled before?" asked Gus looking curious.

"We don't know. When we found him, he's been very shy, quiet, and a bit of a nervous wreck. He wouldn't even socialize with anyone. Maybe this is the first time he did this before." explained Luz.

"Yeah boy! Maxie's king of the world." King cheered on.

"I did it!" said Maxwell looking triumphant.

Suddenly, reality hit him harder than lightning and his vision was getting a bit dizzy as his face turned completely green. He looked sick.

"Mi estomago se siente raro." said Maxwell as he fainted to the ground.

"Was that too much him?" asked Willow.

"From what he just said, a little. He said his stomach felt weird. Maybe the thrill was a bit of a shock for him." explained Luz.

They looked over him and helped him up on his feet as Luz, Willow and Gus helped Maxwell walk while King walked with them.

"I need to lay down, guys." groaned Maxwell.

"Not to worry Maxie, we're almost at the owl house." reassured Luz.

"Please don't tell Eda everything that went down." Maxwell advised. "I'm sorry for the swear words.

"That's alright, but try not to use those words." Luz kindly advised.

They all fell silent. They were worried about Maxwell as they heard him asked them not to tell Eda about what happened today. Why did he not want Eda to know and one other thing on their minds was how did he know Lilith?


	8. Chapter 8

Maxwell was shaking with fear as he looked alarmed at the idea of Eda finding out what he was doing when Luz, King, Willow and Gus and himself were doing at Hexside and the escapades that followed. Luz was worried about this.

"Why don't you want Eda to find out about what happened back there?" asked Willow curiously.

"I'd rather not say it." said Maxwell looking nervous and afraid.

"Are you afraid we're not going to understand, big guy?" asked King looking concern.

Maxwell blushed, falling silent once more. Luz placed a hand on his shoulder and was gently rubbing it as if to comfort Maxwell and melt his fears away which had him feeling a sense of relief.

"Maxie, you can tell us anything, no one will judge you for it. Be it a serious or embarrassing issue like puberty, an irrational fear or even if it's being given the talk about girls. We'll never judge you for it." Luz told him in a word of comfort.

They saw the owl house from a distance as they kept walking closer towards it. Maxwell felt a bit of a mix of comfort and fear.

"I'm afraid that if Eda finds what happened back there, I'm afraid she's going to yell at me or be mad at me, or both." Maxwell confessed. "Back at home, lets just say that my dad was not the best at handling mistakes. If I made a mistake or did something he saw as wrong, he'd yell louder than a steam whistle at a saw mill."

They saw that this really bothered Maxwell as he looked embarrassed and ashamed to tell them.

"So your dad yelled at you a lot? Even though he had no reason to." asked King.

Maxwell was looking down as his feet and gave a brief nod. They were surprised to hear this from him as they knew that adults yelling at children for no reason at all can scar them or do some damage to them.

"Well, your dad's not here to yell at you. And if it makes you feel better. I got banned from Hexside on my first visit there, Willow snuck me in there to show me around, Amity suspected we were hiding that from her, I was disguised as an abomination monster. The principle nearly tried to dissect me to see if I was human but thanks to Willow and Gus, they helped me escape, despite the fact they got detention and I got banned from the place." explained Luz.

Maxwell felt a slight sense of comfort but a mix of shock at the same time. Seeing that Luz was alright with being banned from the school and not letting it stop her from going in and out of the school was something he never expected.

"And Eda didn't get mad?" said Maxwell.

"Nope, she actually was thrilled that I did a bit of rebellion." answered Luz. "Don't worry, Eda won't yell at you."

"Alright, but lets break this to her slowly." Maxwell suggested.

Luz nodded and took Maxwell by the hand as a form of emotional support which seemed to slowly be working. They made it the owl house as they saw Eda walking out of the house's front door. She smiled as they arrived.

"How did it go?" asked Eda.

Maxwell's sense of comfort faded a little as he hidden himself behind Luz and shook from fear a bit.

"I didn't do it!" said Maxwell nervously.

"Didn't do what? The bag wasn't there, was it?" asked Eda.

Luz pulled the bag out and let Eda know they got it.

"Oh we got it, alright. But it's a bit of a long story." answered Luz.

"Oh? Let me guess, you actually set something on fire? Or did you have to break into a room or two and go in without being seen like a stealthy soldier or what?" joked Eda a little amused.

Maxwell didn't look at her but he didn't expect to hear her to sound as if thrilled about this. Luz walked up to Eda and she gently informed Eda about the situation from them using a potion to disguise themselves in order to go undetected, Maxwell going through the lost and found office door like he were a ghost, the fact that Amity caught them, bullied Maxwell a bit but despite that they stuck up for Maxwell, the fact that Maxwell stood up to Amity and threatened to expose a secret or two about Amity, after she told her what they were, Amity backing down, even one-upping on Amity from a powerful musical performance that got the students raving about him, getting caught by Principle Bump and that Maxwell was afraid of him as he was the one that chased after him when he was there, the fact that Maxwell stood up to him and made his name into a joke, and teleported both himself and the rest of them far away. Informing her this was probably his first time in rebelling but she left out the mentioning of Lilith and the fact that Maxwell said some swear words. She even inform Eda he's afraid she'll yell at him as his father seem to be too harsh on him.

This left Eda a bit stunned at first which she started to form a grin.

"Eda, go easy on him. He's afraid your going to be mad at him." warned Luz.

As Eda began to laugh a bit, it left Maxwell a bit stunned. She was laughing? He was expecting much worse.

"This kid is more than a rebel, he's a Rembrandt with a dangerous mind." said Eda trying to stop laughing. "Bartholemew being a middle name for a girl, that's a boy's name. Principle Bump with a big rump, hahaha, I'll bet he's burning red with rage."

Eda walked over towards Maxwell and managed to stop laughing after a bit. She placed her hands on his shoulders which left him letting out a loud hiccup.

"That's my boy, baby's first act of rebellion like Luz." said Eda proudly.

"I can't believe she's not killing me." said Maxwell shocked.

"Trust me, kiddo. There are times when you'll have to stand up to a bully, or times when you got to go into rebellion when your righting a wrong. You actually did both, that's my little rebel." praised Eda.

Eda pulled Maxwell in for a hug with one strong arm and she had a very strong grip which was causing him to feel like he couldn't breathe.

"Eda, too tight. You're crushing me." Maxwell said weakly.

"Sorry about that." Eda told him as she loosened her grip. "But no one got hurt, did they?"

"The only thing hurt was Amity and the principle's egos." said Gus giggling.

"Well, they were probably asking for it." Eda agreed. "Maxie, when Luz told me your dad yelled at you too much, was that why you were afraid to tell me about what happened today?"

Maxwell felt his heart racing but he nodded as if knowing that she needed to know since he told Luz and the rest of them and Luz told her. He blushed a bit deeper.

"Well, think of it this way, your dad isn't here to yell at you. Even if he was, I wouldn't let him treat you that way." said Eda with a word of comfort.

"Parent's shouldn't yell at their kids, even if they mess up." Luz said in agreement.

Hearing this seem to have Maxwell feeling protected, loved. He felt happy, but he also knew that there was something that he knew they had a right to know about which he has struggled with telling them. After Eda released her arm from him, Luz came to hug Maxwell. The young human boy felt his heart racing again as he suddenly fainted to the ground, slipping out of her grip.

"Uh oh." said Willow and Gus.

"Don't worry, he'll be alright." said Luz.

"I'm alright, no need to resuscitate me." said Maxwell as he awoke.

Luz and Eda took hold of his hands and pulled him up on his feet which Maxwell felt relieved. Before he could say anything, his whole body froze and his eyes turned completely white as he started to see what looked like a vision.

"Eda, something's going on with his eyes." Luz pointed out.

Eda, Luz, King, Willow and Gus saw that his eyes were completely white. They tried to get his attention but he seemed to not see or hear them. Maxwell saw the mysterious man he spoke of to Eda, King and Luz and it looked like he was wandering around at the Covention Center. He saw him looking around for someone.

_"Maxwell, come on out. I can help with you controlling your power better."_ said the man.

Everything suddenly went black and Maxwell's eye vision was coming back as he was seeing himself laying on the ground and being held in Luz's arms with everyone looking worried at him.

"Come on, Maxie. Wake up, say something, make a movement, anything." said a panicked King.

"He's at the Covention Center, he's looking for me, he wants to help." said Maxwell finally.

"Who is at that place looking for you?" asked Luz.

"The man I told you about that I said things got weird for me since I met him. He's there." answered Maxwell.

They all looked at each other and knew this meant something. Even Eda knew that this meant one thing.


	9. Chapter 9

Two days have gone by and both Eda, King, Luz and Maxwell were at the Covention Center. There was a sign outside that read "Covention Recreation Today" with the lettering under it reading "Potions Therapy Tomorrow"

Eda was wearing a cowl over her head to keep a low profile while she had an annoyed look on her face.

"I can't believe you used the big innocent eyes on me to come here." said Eda with an annoyed sigh.

"I really wished Luz and King didn't drag me into that. Even after I told them I didn't want to make Eda mad." said Maxwell blushing.

"Well, if we find this man, he could provide some answers to what we need to know about his connection between Maxie and him." said Luz.

As they entered the building that the covention was at, little Maxwell was looking around with his eyes and face as he saw the signs all over and looked right at Eda, Luz and King.

"Guys, what's a coven?" asked Maxwell curiously.

They stopped and looked right at him which had Maxwell looking down at his feet as if afraid to look back.

"You don't know what a coven is do you, kiddo?" said Eda looking surprised.

"Is it wrong that I don't know?" answered Maxwell with a nervous tone.

"Well Maxie boy, a coven is part of a group of witches join to become part of a magical group but if you join one of them, than your magic is restricted by that coven and it takes away your magical freedom to do any other magic other than the coven you join in. Having you parted of a crooked system. If you have magical abilities, you should have the freedom to do any sort of it and not let it be restricted to one." explained Eda which she felt this way with a passion.

Maxwell seemed a bit surprised but he also understood what Eda told him. He probably never knew what a coven was or no one explained it to him before.

"Sounds like they take away your freedom to me like it's punishment." Maxwell commented. "I'm not into joining groups, I'd choose freedom."

Eda grinned and patted Maxwell on the head as she seemed pleased to hear him say that which caused the boy to blush deeper and let out a loud hiccup.

"That's my boy." said Eda.

"Everyone should have freedom to do any magic they want and I'm with Eda on this one. Maxie, if anyone asks you to join a coven even for witches or wizards, it's like Eda said, just so no. That's at least what she told me." Luz advised.

Maxwell felt like he was learning a bit from them till his body felt a bit of pressure from behind his lower back as he felt it growing a bit stronger. This caused him to clench things from his lower back.

"Oh no. Is there a bathroom? I have to go." groaned Maxwell.

"Do you got to go number one, little guy?" asked King.

"It's not that one this time." groaned Maxwell.

"Hate to say it but I did warn you about eating that huge sandwich. Just like how I warn King not to drink too much fluids when we're out of the house for too long." advised Eda. "King, lead Maxie to the little boys room before he goes in his pants."

King nodded and lead the way as Maxwell followed him down a few walk ways while he tried to hold it which was proving to be getting harder to do. They have not seen the bathroom anywhere near them yet.

"King, are we there yet? I can't hold it much longer." warned Maxwell.

"Don't worry, bud. I see it from here. Just don't go into the girls room or you'll see more of a woman than you think." joked King with a laugh.

They finally made it to the bathroom and Maxwell went inside as he saw plenty of stalls and it was kept clean in there. He knocked on one of the stall doors and went in there to use it. King was waiting for him outside the bathroom as he knew that this could take a while as minutes ticked by.

"He's been in there for a while, maybe I should go in there and see if he's alright." King suggested.

Just as soon as he was about to go in, that's when Maxwell came out and he looked relieved. Blushing deeply.

"Everything alright?" asked King.

"I managed to clean up after myself but don't go in there because I think I left smell." warned Maxwell.

King sniffed a bit and the smell from the bathroom hit his nose as he shook his head.

"Phew! What was in that sandwich you ate? Did you fart?" asked King blushing.

"I didn't fart. And that sandwich had a lot of meat and cheese." said Maxwell blushing.

"Well, at least you let it out. That smell is gnarly." King commented. "Lets head back and get the girls to kiss you."

King laughed about the joke he told which left Maxwell blushing a light shade of pink as they walked off from the bathroom.

"Relax kiddo, I'm only messing with you." said King.

"It's alright, at least you didn't have to take a very big shit that took a little out of you' said Maxwell as he just realized what he said.

"Understood but watch your mouth, kiddo. We don't use those words." advised King. "But don't feel down, we all let it slip at times."

"I'm sorry." Maxwell apologized.

King patted him on his leg to reassure him he meant no harm.

Maxwell was silent as the joke wasn't amusing him. King kept his eyes opened as he was looking for Eda and Luz and kept an eye on Maxwell. The young male human was starting to pick up on some vibes which he brushed off till he got stopped by what looked like a sweet yet plump older woman who had slightly longer pointed ears than most witches her age as she looked middle aged with curly brown hair and wore white.

"Hello, hungry for a sweet?" she asked kindly.

"Actually, I can't. I have to-mmph"

Maxwell was cut off as a large cookie was stuffed into his mouth and he chewed it up as the taste of it was sweeter than he'd expected it to be. His eye pupils dilated a bit as the cookie tasted like snickerdoodles as he let out a giddy giggle.

"I have to try anything you've got." Maxwell laughed.

As the plump lady sat him down to let try more sugary sweets, he had completely forgotten where he was going as King walked off without noticing that the boy was not next to him.

"Eda, Luz? Where are you? This kiddo took care of some business." called out King.

"Over here, tiny." called out Eda.

King walked over to where he spotted Eda and Luz which they walked over to him as they met up with each other.

"Any sign of the man we're looking for?" asked King.

"Not yet." answered Luz.

"Hey King, did you lose something?" asked Eda.

King at first didn't understand what she told him till he looked around and noticed that Maxwell wasn't nearby or within eye sight. He looked back at them and looked surprised.

"Oh no." said King annoyed. "He was right next to me when we left the bathroom."

"Do you remember where you last saw him? Because you and me and Luz know he wouldn't wander off on purpose." said Eda shaking her head. "Lets go find him."

They walked off to look for Maxwell as King lead the way to where he last spotted Maxwell. Eda felt annoyed and worried at the same time.

"Eda, lets go easy on him. I think he's a bit nervous with you." Luz advised.

"When we find him, lets hope he didn't wander off on purpose or he's in for a talking to." warned Eda.

"I last saw him here and, oh." King trailed off.

King pointed where he spotted Maxwell and they all saw where he was. There, they spotted Maxwell sitting down where the plump middle aged lady and others like her were feeding Maxwell sugary sweets of all sorts. Cookies, mini-pies, doughnuts, cupcakes and drinking what appeared to be sodas. Maxwell laughed hysterically.

"What oh?" asked Eda.

They looked up and saw Maxwell pigging out. They were a bit surprised to see that Maxwell could eat a lot as they walked over to him. They never seen anyone eating like that as the boy could wolf down so much food.

"I've never seen such a cutie with a large appetite." giggled the middle aged lady.

"I've never had sweets before." laughed Maxwell crazily. "Top of the world, Ma."

"Or at the bottom of the well." came Eda's voice.

Maxwell stopped eating as he heard Eda. Both Eda, Luz and King stood there next to him. They saw that he gorged himself quite a bit the empty paper wrappers, pie and cake trays, empty boxes of doughnuts and cookies and empty soda cans. Maxwell let out a few hiccups.

"Whoa! I'm surprised he didn't explode." said Luz giggling.

"Ma'am, is this boy with you?" asked the plump lady. "I only meant to let him try out what we'll be selling into a bakery later, it was all for free here. I couldn't resist that cute face of his."

"Well, I think he had enough." Eda commented. "Maxwell, you feeling alright? Please tell me you don't have to throw up."

"I'm alright." said Maxwell with another hiccup. "No more, I'm more stuffed than a turkey on thanksgiving."

Eda reached out to take Maxwell's hand and lifted him up on his feet as he had a bit of a slight bulge in his belly. She felt his belly with her right hand and slightly drummed her fingers across it, causing him to giggle and shake. That almost got Eda laughing.

"Come on, you little glutton before you eat more and explode." Eda advised.

Maxwell suddenly let out a loud burp which relieved any pressure in his stomach and his belly bulge disappeared. Eda tried not to laugh because the burp was so huge as she had Luz, King and Maxwell go with her. Maxwell was a bit worried as he looked at the ground in shame. They looked at him and saw he was feeling down.

"You okay, Maxie?" asked Luz kindly.

"I'm sorry guys. The lady just popped one in my mouth and I went crazy." apologized Maxwell. "Please don't be mad at me, I never meant to stray away."

"Maxie, we're not mad, a little worried about you, yes, but not mad at you." Eda said kindly. "It's like you never had sugar."

As they stopped, they saw Maxwell blush deeply and it looked like they guessed a truth.

"Oh my, he's never had sugar." said Eda surprised.

"Let's just say that my dad would never let have any of it. He never told me they tasted so good." said Maxwell shaking from the sugar.

"Well, a little sugar is alright. But that was a little too much." Luz sympathized.

"Agreed. But Maxie, just so you know, I'm responsible for you, Luz and King. So it's my job protect both of you, and I know you didn't mean to wander off." Eda explained. "And I'm sorry I got tough on you. You got nothing to be afraid of around me."

Eda placed her hand on Maxwell's right shoulder to comfort him as it worked to lift his spirits a bit. He looked up and he was just about to look towards Eda's sympathetic face but he saw someone within a distance that had him suddenly have an unpleasant jolt of fear strike his heart and mind. He gulped loudly.

"Oh no." Maxwell uttered.

"Feel sick?" guessed King.

Maxwell quickly hid behind Eda and shook from fear.

"Could you guys hide me? I think we need to leave." Maxwell's voice was shaky.

"What's got you so freaked out?" asked Eda curiously.

"That lady over yonder there. Don't let her anywhere near me." Maxwell pointed out.

They looked forwards and from a distance and there they saw a tall and slender woman with long, dark teal hair, a long-sleeved two-tone dark gray dress and aquamarine eyes. It was Lilith, standing a distance away from them.


	10. Chapter 10

Eda, Luz and King were surprised to see Maxwell possibly knows Lilith as he shook with fear and he kept hiding behind Eda which Eda turned to see Maxwell cowering in fear of the very sight of Lilith.

"I didn't expect my sister to be here." said Eda looking annoyed by the sight of Lilith as she looked at Maxwell.

"Por favor, ayúdame, Eda. Mantén a Lilith lejos." said Maxwell his voice shaking.

"Translation Luz?" asked Eda.

"He's asking for us to help him and he wants Lilith to stay away from him." Luz translated.

Eda gave a serious look at Maxwell as if knowing that he was hiding something from her. Luz pulled Maxwell in for a hug.

"Eda, I have to confess. When we went to get his bag, he warned us and even Amity about Lilith. I would've told you but Maxie was afraid to tell you." Luz confessed.

Hearing this had Eda surprised but she felt that it was understandable considering the circumstances of that day.

"Maxwell, what did Lilly do!" asked Eda now looking unamused from what she heard.

He looked down at his feet and fought the urge to shed a tear as he knew there was no way out of this and lying was a bad idea.

"I was trying to hide by disguising myself but she mistaken me for someone she, you know, wanted, in ways I dare not say. She was aggressively hitting on me but I kept kindly telling her I wasn't her type but she didn't listen. She pulled me in for smooch and placed her hands on me in a place I dare not mention, don't ask. But I broke from her grip and my disguise was ripped off, she saw I was a human and she blamed this all on me." explained Maxwell as he wasn't comfortable about talking about it. "Than she found out I had some power she wanted from me, but I didn't know what she was talking about, she tried to take me away but I escaped, she chased after me and she knew that if anyone knew what she did, than they'd blame me and she would no longer be part of this emperor's coven and we'd both be stigmatized for it."

Hearing this only got them all shocked, wide eyed and speechless. Lilith assaulting a young human child was wrong but the fact that Lilith possibly tried to rape Maxwell, but how she tried to cover her tracks and blame it on him while trying to coin in on a power he possessed was pure evil. Eda cracked her knuckles and looked burning mad and shocked.

"You mean Lilly actually did that to you?" said Eda cracking her knuckles.

"She even tried to give me a beat down, that only explains half of the red marks and bruises." answered Maxwell.

"That's just wrong! And so gross! Ewwwww, makes me want to puke." said King looking disgusted and making fake puking sounds.

"Lilly has crossed the line. She'll be begging for mercy for hurting one of my own." warned Eda. "Lilith, I'm so gonna kill you!"

"You know I can put up a good fight, Edalyn." came a calm female's voice.

They all froze and turned to see Lilith facing them and Maxwell froze with fear from being anywhere near her, the traumatizing memory of her was much worse than seeing her a second time.

"You got a lot of nerve for showing your face after what I found out what you did." Eda snapped back.

"And what did I do that was so horrible?" asked Lilith looking clueless.

"Lets say a little birdy told me your dirty little secret." Eda said crossing her arms.

Lilith spotted Luz, King and Maxwell as she suddenly caught onto what was said and she looked directly at Maxwell as a visible sign of anger spread on her face.

"You!" Lilith growled.

"Déjame solo!" Maxwell flinched.

She was about to reach for Maxwell but Eda stood in her way as she acted as a shield.

"Told on by a little boy, how embarrassing for you, Lilly." Eda smugly.

"The human lied to me by hiding his appearance from me, and from the looks of it, makes me wonder how you found this one." Lilith smugly insulted Maxwell. "So you went running to Edalyn so she could nurse your boo boos, gave her a fake sob story so you wouldn't be all alone in this world. What's next, you fell in love with a witch?"

Maxwell looked down at his feet and felt Lilith's mocking him was breaking his spirit. Eda, Luz and King didn't like this. Lilith got annoyed and had her hand out which her magic pulled the poor boy to him like levitating him to her. Now Lilith had her hand on Maxwell's cheek and forced him to look up at her.

"Let go of him, Lilly." warned Eda cracking her knuckles.

"He will learn to look at me and his elders when they speak to him. Look at me when I'm talking to you, human!" snapped Lilith.

In a fit of anger, Lilith raised her hand and swung it towards Maxwell and struck him across the face hard, she slapped him hard on his face four times, leaving him to groan in pain. Eda was looking angrier along with King and Luz.

"Lilly, you lay one more hand on him or." warned Eda.

"Or what? Why should anyone care for this disobedient, dumb monkey of a human. I'll bet whoever tried raising him didn't even want him." Lilith smugly berated.

Maxwell couldn't hold it in no more as he looked down and his body shook, tears began to run down his cheeks, his voice got shaky and this was only angering Eda, Luz and King more.

"Don't you talk to him like that." Eda defended. "This is big words coming from someone who had no date because they found you so boring they fell asleep when you talked and I had how many dates?"

The insult Eda directed at Lilith had Lilith blush briefly and she looked annoyed.

"Face it, Lilly. That last witches duel ended in a draw, a child could beat you." Eda laughed.

"You think you're better than me?" said Lilith annoyed. "You want to test that theory, fine, than I challenge that boy to a witches duel."

"Wait, what?" said Maxwell confused.

Lilith formed an everlasting oath circle with her fingers in a gold light and she forcefully grabbed Maxwell's hand and shook his hand through it.

"Lilith, what are you doing?" said Eda.

"If I win, he comes with me to take him to the emperor and we can extract what power he's hiding and he admits it was his fault for lying to me about what he did by admitting it to everyone." bet Lilith. "And if he wins, he stays with you, I'll leave him alone, I won't even touch him and I'll admit to everyone what I did to him and that he's not to blame."

As the circle disappeared, Maxwell's fear returned and he looked right at Eda before he took off running in tears. Eda looked at Lilith with anger.

"Your going to regret what you just did to him." said Eda looking determined.

"Have him meet me at the theatre in an hour." Lilith instructed. "He won't last a second."

As Lilith walked off, Eda was mad at Lilith for what she did to poor Maxwell.

"Luz, you know I didn't mean for this to happen." said Eda feeing guilty.

"Lilith forced him into this, you didn't do this to him, Lilith did. But worry about that later, we need to go find Maxie." said Luz.

They nodded and both Eda, Luz and King went to find Maxwell, they looked around at other corridors and rooms but didn't find him, they took one turn a hallway that was having no people and there, they found a despondent Maxwell leaning on his side to the wall, more tears running down his face. They walked towards him as they knew he was emotionally vulnerable.

"Maxie!" called King.

Maxwell rose his head up to show he was listening but he didn't look back.

"Maxie, I'm sorry. I never meant for that." apologized Eda.

"Por qué yo, por qué siempre yo!" Maxwell's voice shook.

Eda reached out to place her hand on his left shoulder, causing him to turn to face them yet he kept his face looking down at his feet.

"I'm dead. I'm a dead man." said Maxwell sadly.

"No your not." Luz said in an attempt to comfort him.

"You don't understand." Maxwell responded.

"We need you to help us understand." King suggested.

Maxwell let out a sigh and muttered something under his breath which they didn't hear very well.

"Could you speak up, Maxie?" asked Eda.

"I can't hit a lady, it's against me. And I really don't want to go with her nor do I want to die." Maxwell spoke up. "It's not safe for me to go back home, now I got a witch after me and she'll probably kill me while she's at it."

A look of wide eyed fear shown in his eyes and he grabbed hold of Luz by the shoulders and was desperate for their help as he had his face looking at them.

"SHE'S GONNA KILL ME, I TELL YOU! SHE'S GONNA KILL ME!" shouted Maxwell fearfully.

"Maxie, calm down!" said Luz.

Maxwell surprisingly obeyed her command and let go of her but Luz placed her hands on his shoulders in an attempt to soothe him.

"Maxie, we're not going to let her take you away. Breathe in and breathe out, and don't let what Lilith said bother you. Everything she said about you is not true. Your a good kid." Luz reassured. "Also, what happened to your confidence when we went to get your bag?"

"That was when I was in disguise and no one saw my real form." said Maxwell blushing.

"Maxie, you got to start standing up for yourself, did anyone teach you how to stand up for yourself? You can't let people walk all over you." stated Eda. "Did anyone teach you?"

Maxwell shook his head gently, blushing deeply.

"Well, now is good a time as any to teach you to be confident, to stand up for yourself. And just because Lilith is a girl, you can only fight back against a female if they're attacking you." Eda reassured. "Do you know any spells?"

"It's complicated. For some reason, just because I shook hands with the mysterious man, a lot more power is coming out of me like instinct and I don't know if I can control it." admitted Maxwell. "Please help me, Miss Eda. I'm terrified."

"Maxie, your going to be alright. I won't let Lilith take you away and she'll pay for what she did to you. That and I got an idea on how to help you." Eda told him.

"I'll do anything." said Maxwell looking desperate as he faced them.

Eda looked around to make sure no one could see nor hear them and looked back at them as she had them all huddled up and began to explain her idea on how they can help Maxwell. Listening to the idea not only had King looking interested but Luz was surprised to hear what it was and Maxwell was shocked to hear what she had in mind.


	11. Chapter 11

An hour has passed as Eda was leading Maxwell to the dueling theatre and King and Luz were worried about what was coming.

"Eda, are you sure about this?" asked Luz.

"I'm as sure as this duel will probably not be easy." answered Eda.

Maxwell looked worried as they were getting closer. Luz hugged Maxwell before she and King were headed for the stands.

"Don't let Maxie get hurt." warned Luz.

"I can't make any promises on this." informed Eda.

King and Luz went to sit in the stands as there was a lot of people in the stands. King and Luz sat next to where Gus and Willow were seated. Eda lead Maxwell out into the dueling grounds. On one side stood Lilith while Eda and Maxwell stood on the other side of the arena.

"Eda, what am I going to do? I'm terrified." Maxwell whispered to her.

"Calm down, you see those markings?" Eda whispered as she pointed out with her eyes.

There were what looked like thin markings on parts of the arena floor and Maxwell could see them but no one else could. They looked like lines that formed Xs but they looked like they covered up to try and make them unnoticeable.

"Get her to land on them or step on them and the magic traps will be sprung." whispered Eda.

"But that's cheating. My father was a cheater, big time. I'll be just like him if I do that." whispered Maxwell sadly. "My dad even cheated on women that he was in a relationship with."

"No one will know, they'll think your performing magic or at least it'll keep you safe from Lilith's worst wrath. Besides, your not like your dad, he cheated for the wrong reasons, this is more like for the right reasons to stay alive." Eda whispered back. "Your nothing like your dad."

"If I win this way, than I'll know it's all a lie." whispered Maxwell worried.

"That's the spirit, big boy." said Eda with a grin. "You might want to prepare for bloodshed if something goes south."

Maxwell did not like the sounds of this. They turned to see Lilith as she had looked like she was announcing something to the people.

"Beloved citizens, the emperor's coven proudly presents a demonstration of what sort of witch or wizard is superior and how we enforce discipline on humans, witches and wizards who even defy those are with the emperor." announced Lilith. "I'll be showing the demonstration where it's me versus some human boy."

Everyone in the stands saw Maxwell and so many murmurs were heard from this while some demons were muttering insults.

"That's a human." said a male demon.

"Human's can't do magic." insulted another male demon.

"He's not Lilith." insulted a female demon.

King tossed what looked like an apple at those three demons and when they looked back at him, he shook his head at them as if to shame them which got them silent. The bell had a mouth on it and it rang while a scream was uttered by it to begin the duel. Lilith and Maxwell stood forwards.

"You'll be begging for mercy soon, dumb monkey." Lilith insulted.

"I'm not a monkey." Maxwell defended.

Lilith used her fingers to form a hole in the floor and it used purple light.

"Abomination, rise." called Lilith.

A towering large abomination came from the hole and it looked to be hulking and ten feet tall. Maxwell was wide eyed at this.

"Show me what you got, human." dared Lilith.

"Que mierda." yelled Maxwell.

The towering creature stomped it's way to him as Maxwell saw it prepare to use a huge fist to slam him but luckily for him, he dodged it by jumping backwards. They all were surprised at how he dodged the move. It tried to hit Maxwell again but he jumped into the air to dodge it and this time, he jumped twenty feet into the air.

"Whoa." called the audience.

Maxwell fell but was caught by Eda as she helped him back on his feet.

"There's no way a human can jump like that." called Lilith.

The towering figure walked towards Maxwell but stepped on one of Eda's invisible traps in the ground and within an instant, the towering figure was crystalized like water freezing and it was stuck, unable to move. The audience murmured at seeing this as they didn't know what to think.

"What did you just do?" said Lilith loudly.

Maxwell ignored her as he walked towards the crystalized figured and he felt a burp coming on and suddenly, he burped loudly but fire came out of his mouth like he was a dragon as the fire melted and destroyed the abomination. The burp stopped and the fire went out.

"He breathed fire, impossible!" called a few people from the stands.

"I don't know how you did that but looks like more drastic measures are needed." threatened Lilith.

Lilith had formed a blue flame circle as she brought out her staff and she teleported. Maxwell was wondering where she went to till she saw her teleport briefly to slap him across the face. He tried to dodge it but Lilith kept teleporting fast to slap him on the face, or even hit him on his back and was hitting him harder on his face.

"No fair!" Maxwell yelled.

"What's the matter, human? Can't defend yourself? Or is it because you don't know magic and you can't hit a lady?" Lilith taunted.

Lilith teleported once more and used her staff to swing at Maxwell and it struck him on his side, knocking him to the ground as he struggled to get up. He let out a cough which a few drops of blood came out of his mouth, anyone who saw the blood were shocked to see this.

"Face it, human. Those who raised you didn't want you, no one wants you here, you can't fight back because your weak. And we all know if you hit me back, you'll be seen as a brute." Lilith taunted.

Maxwell fought hard not to break into tears and cry his eyes out from how cruel Lilith was being. Eda didn't like this at all, neither did Luz, King, Gus or Willow.

"Your mean." Maxwell said in a shaky voice.

"Knock it off, Lilith! It's a duel, not a trash talk battle." Eda defended.

"What do you care. He's just a dumb country bumpkin." Lilith mocked.

The audience gasped loudly as many of them put their hands over their mouths. Calling a young southerner that word was like saying a prejudice word towards someone of their race. A rage kicked into Maxwell when he heard her call him that insulting term as a lot of voices were heard in his head from so many people he could remember that taunted, mocked, or bullied him and he eventually screamed in a loud rage as he found the strength to get up on his feet. A look of rage was on his face. He spat out blood that landed on the ground and the source of the bleeding in his mouth looked like it was healing almost instantly.

"Fuck you, Lilith!" shouted Maxwell.

The audience fell into a shocked silence, so many people had wide eyed shocked expressions from what Maxwell just said to Lilith. Eda was even shocked to hear someone Maxwell's age say such words. Lilith was both surprised but annoyed.

"What did you just say to me?" said Lilith looking angry.

"I said fuck you, as in go fuck yourself." Maxwell snapped back.

"He just said a swear word." said one of the shocked witches.

Maxwell's eyes turned gold and a powerful gold energy formed all around him as he let out a powerful lion like roar. Lilith stepped back a bit as the audience was almost speechless. Maxwell started to try and land a punch on Lilith as she dodged them, he was proving to be very fast or faster than he could run. Eda looked thrilled.

"That's my boy, take her down a peg!" cheered Eda.

"This is not possible!" shouted Lilith.

"Where's your sass mouthing going to get you know, princess?" Maxwell snapped.

Lilith dodged his next move and both were sent back from a distance.

"Don't call me princess!" spat Lilith.

"Princess, a princess. Lilith's a short tempered princess." mocked Maxwell.

Lilith screamed in a rage and charged at him with blue flames ready to take him down but she stepped on one of Eda's traps and an explosion had set up a flame in front of her that didn't last long but she dodged the flames. Lilith tried charging at him from all directions but she stepped on more traps and she got blasted with water, sprayed with sand that she dodged, she almost caught fire and almost got a barrage of stones to strike her. She stepped back and started to think for a moment and grabbed one of the stones on the ground and tossed it near Maxwell which triggered one of the traps Eda set up. Causing spikes from the ground to form. The audience gasps and Lilith smiled as she saw what just happened.

"What the hell, Spikes?" Maxwell shouted and he saw Eda give him the thumbs up.

"Oh Eda, looks like you lose for cheating and the human comes with me." Lilith smugly stated.

Maxwell's form had changed and he turned back to normal faster than the moment was over. A look of horror was upon his face. His heart sank.

"Whoa there, it was not my idea to do this. I tried to stop it." Maxwell babbled.

"Who would believe a stupid little monkey like you. I've known cry babies who don't cheat." insulted Lilith. "You know the deal we've made, come with me human, your power is mine to do as I please. Lets go."

Maxwell's heart sank as he looked back at Eda, desperate for her help as Eda came to his side like a mother to her child.

"I'm waiting." said Lilith getting impatient.

Eda looked at Maxwell and she winked at him as if to give him an idea. Maxwell didn't know what to do as he shook all over. Eda than looked at Lilith with a serious look.

"No." said Eda crossing her arms.

Lilith's smug look faded and turned to defied shock.

"No?" said Lilith in disbelief.

"That's right, Lilly. Maxwell's done taking your abuse. He's not going anywhere with you, not now, not ever." Eda said sticking up for Maxwell.

"And what's he going to do about it? He lost, he cheated, he's mine. What's he going to do? He can't stand up for himself even if his life depended." Lilith argued.

"Why don't we let him decide and see whose right or wrong." dared Eda.

The idea of that sent a bit of pressure on Maxwell's part while Eda and Lilith both were keeping their eyes on him. Maxwell was a bit afraid.

"Human, get over here, now." demanded Lilith.

"Don't do it, Maxie. She's only going to hurt you more." Eda advised.

"Human, get your butt over here now!" demanded Lilith getting aggressive.

"Think about this, she hurt you, she beaten you up, verbally berated you and she bullied you, she's not the type of person you should be with. Don't listen to her." Eda kept advising it.

"Human, get over here now!" Lilith raised her voice. "If you don't get over here right now, you'll face severe consequences."

Maxwell felt like a lot of pressure was under him and he at first didn't know who to listen to. He was terrified of Lilith, nervous around Eda and he had no idea how to get himself out of this one till a bit of defiance kicked into him, he looked up at Lilith with a serious look.

"No." said Maxwell finally. "I'm not going with you Lilith."

The audience was in shock to see someone standing up to someone like Lilith. Eda looked thrilled to hear this while Luz, King, Willow and Gus were both shocked and amazed at the same time.

"Are you telling me no?" Lilith rhetorically.

"Yes I am." said Maxwell almost shocked.

"Last chance human, get your butt over here or else." threatened Lilith.

"Make me you crow." snapped Maxwell crossing his arms. "What makes you think I should go with you?"

"The everlasting oath says otherwise." Lilith reminded.

Maxwell's confidence and courage sank really fast like a boat in the ocean, his arms fell to their sides as he looked towards Eda and Lilith while Eda herself knew this wasn't fair to poor Maxwell. The audience knew about everlasting oath spells and they sort of expected one of them to have sealed an agreement before the duel started.

"B-b-but I." Maxwell weakly defended.

"No buts, you cheat and you lost, so your coming with me, whether you like it or not." Lilith snapped.

Maxwell was feeling his heart break from this. He really didn't want to go with Lilith but the oath was forcing him to go. He looked towards Eda with a look of desperation which Eda was at a loss.

"It's ether me or the emperor, human." said Lilith getting impatient.

Eda took one look at Lilith and saw something on her that was barely noticeable. She saw what looked like a piece of paper on her chest.

"Hey princess, you got something on you." said Eda as she walked towards her.

Eda reached for where the paper was on Lilith as Lilith tried to get her hands off her but Eda pulled a piece of paper off her and saw it had a symbol on it everyone saw what was going on.

"A power glyph from the construction coven." Eda called out.

Everyone was murmuring more than usual and some of them even made a comment. Maxwell suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of relief, shock and surprise as his heart almost skipped a beat from finding out about this.

"I knew it!" said Luz, King, Willow, Gus and others.

"Looks like perfect prissy Lilith cheated again and the boy stays with us." Eda mocked Lilith.

"I only did that because I knew you would cheat." snapped Lilith.

"You still cheated, how's it feel to be lower than my level and to be beaten by a child?" Eda kept mocking her.

"Stop it, right now." growled Lilith.

"Guess who got beat by a child? You did." laughed Eda.

Some people from the audience started laughing at Lilith's expense. Eda was even doing a victory dance that got her shaking her butt at Lilith, this caused Maxwell to stare at Eda as he blushed, he was staring at Eda's butt for a bit as he noticed it bounce a bit, than he looked back at Eda's face as a grin formed on his face and his heart raced from excitement as if he was watching a hot girl dance.

"Stop it, your making a scene. Stop acting like a child." Lilith demanded.

"I know you are, what am I? What are you going to do about it, princess?" mocked Eda. "Princess Lilith of the short tempered."

As Lilith growled in anger, she saw Eda making her way towards Maxwell as Eda gotten an idea to make Lilith lose her temper even more. A grin formed on Eda's face.

"What are you about to do?" asked Lilith.

Eda placed her hands on Maxwell's shoulders and smiled at him. Eda placed her right hand on Maxwell's right cheek and was lifting his face up to face her. Lilith started to catch onto what was about to happen.

"Don't you do it!" snapped Lilith.

"Don't do what? This?" giggled Eda.

What Eda did made everyone gasp and even Lilith burn with extreme rage as she planted her full maroon lips to Maxwell's lips in a deep and passionate kiss.

"Whoa." half the audience said while blushing.

Maxwell felt like fireworks were going off in his head from what was possibly his first kiss, his heart was beating very fast and he felt like he was shaking all over. Eda eventually pulled her lips off him after giving him a good, long kiss and a pop was heard. Maxwell was stunned as he blushed and smiled from this as he went limp in the body and Eda laid him down against the wall.

"Face it Lilith, I'm not listening." teased Eda.

"That's it!" shouted Lilith.

Lilith got her staff out while Eda summoned her staff as both of them looked like they were about to battle it out. As they were about to battle it out, Maxwell was slowly looking up and he looked towards Eda with a grin, his heart raced rapidly for Eda. Eda and Lilith both were sending huge fire balls at each other with their staffs and ether they deflected them or dodged them. The whole audience was amazed at such a battle going on while Maxwell was just sitting at the edge of the wall and he kept his eyes on Eda as his heart was racing faster as if with excitement or for the thrill of seeing Eda prevail.

"You kissed a human, an actual human!" shouted Lilith in anger.

"Jealous much? I know you never got kissed by any guys, when the only kiss you got was the pictures of the guys you never could get a date with." taunted Eda. "You cheated, Lilith cheated, she got defeated, a child has you beated."

Lilith shouted with rage and Eda used her fingers to draw a brown circle in the floor and what looked like a snake like body came out of the circle with an owl's head as she used the head to snake it's way towards Lilith but Lilith kept dodging it and teleported which fire would flash out on the ground and it nearly got towards those in the audience, causing the whole audience to flee as it got too dangerous. Luz, King, Willow and Gus managed to get out but they hung around somewhere to wait for it to be over.

"You love struck witch!" shouted Lilith.

"You burning jealous witch." taunted Eda.

Eda used her fingers to trace what looked like gold circles into the snake like body to what looked like an idea she had in mind. Lilith teleported and reappeared to try and strike Eda but she used a huge gold shield to deflect Lilith's blue flames. Eda grinned and winked as the owl that was perched on top of her staff came to life as it's eyes glowed a yellow light and it flew to get in Lilith's face and it pulled her away by her hair.

"Not the hair, not the hair!" said Lilith.

"Say good night, sister." said Eda defiantly.

She spun her staff and Eda jabbed the bottom of her staff at the snake like body and another owl's head came from the side of the body and it opened it's mouth to use it to trap Lilith in it. The owl flew back to Eda and it was on top of the staff, turning back to it's staff head form.

But this was short lived as a hole formed on the side of the owl's head and it had blue flames forming. Lilith teleported out of it and reappeared at Eda's position and just when Lilith was about to strike Eda, that's when Maxwell got up fast and he teleported in a puff of gold smoke and reappeared in front of Lilith.

"Mama said knock you out." Maxwell commented.

Eda turned to see Maxwell punch Lilith in the face and it sent her flying several feet away, hitting the wall and leaving some cracks in it. Lilith managed to surprisingly get up and she stood her ground and stood up on her feet.

"You just hit a lady?" Lilith said in shocked anger.

"Eda's more of a lady than you'll ever be! She's more of a witch than you'll ever be!" shouted Maxwell in defiance. "Suck on that!"

A look of shock was on Lilith's face while Eda smiled as she felt a sense of pride. Maxwell was showing defiance as he was standing up to Lilith for the first time.

"You take that back!" Lilith shouted.

"Never! Make me you old crow." mocked Maxwell.

"Yes! My boy has done it, Lilith! He's finally standing up to you, BURN!" Eda said as a comeback.

Lilith growled and teleported. Their smiles disappeared as they looked around to see where Lilith was coming from this time. Maxwell was a bit nervous but he kept his guard up.

"Where are you hiding, princess!" taunted Maxwell.

Lilith reappeared finally behind Maxwell and she grabbed him from behind as she used her arms to pin Maxwell's arms to his sides and her grip was very strong. A sense of fear appeared on his face.

"Now I got you." said Lilith with a grin.

Eda turned to see the position Maxwell was in as she looked afraid for his safety and his life. Maxwell was gasping in fear.

"Eda, help me!" Maxwell cried. "Lilith, don't do this."

"Eda can't help you now, your mine." giggled Lilith evilly.

"Lilith wait, please don't do this to him." Eda pleaded. "He's just a child."

"Give me an excuse not to unleash my wrath upon this sass mouthing, cowardly spineless wimp." snapped Lilith. "His fear is just so satisfying like feeding on your favorite prey."

Eda saw the look of fear and desperation on Maxwell's face as tears formed and streaked down his face as if about to face his own death. Lilith let out a small, evil laugh.

"Lilith, you can't kill or hurt him because...I'm carrying his baby." Eda lied as she put on a sympathetic look.

Lilith face went from evilly defiant to wide eyed shock. She looked at the tearful Maxwell who nodded as he played along.

"You're pregnant?" said Lilith in disbelief.

"I showed signs two months ago and he's the biological father, you wouldn't hurt him if he was your own, would you?" asked Eda trying to inject the compassion in Lilith.

Lilith started to have a look of guilt and she raised her hand to use her finger to draw out a blue circle, calling off the oath she forced upon him. She let go of Maxwell and Maxwell ran towards Eda as both of them hugged each other. Maxwell was relieved to be back with Eda like a lost child reunited with their mother.

"Eda, I...I didn't know. I would've never caused you or him any harm if I had known that you were pregnant with his baby if I-ahhhh" Lilith was cut off.

Maxwell had formed his hand to show his index finger and pinky finger up with the rest of his fingers closed up and he quickly bent his hand down and a large white ball blasted towards Lilith, landing on her face as it turned to out be silk webbing from the feel of them and it blinded her whole face but not her nose and mouth. Lilith caught onto the fact that Eda lied to her.

"I can't see." growled Lilith.

"Blind as a bat." taunted Eda.

"And old as a crow." taunted Maxwell.

"How you like that." said Eda and Maxwell in unison.

Eda and Maxwell did a fist bump in an act of victory and Eda took hold of Maxwell's hand and lead him out of the arena to the exit as they left.

"You tricked me. Just wait till I get my hands on you, you little." Lilith said trying to get the webbing off her face.

"Looks like this one is a draw and my baby wins." called Eda laughing.

Eda lead him down the hallway to reunite with Luz, King, Willow and Gus where they were near the front entrance of the Covention Center. Luz, King, Willow and Gus hugged Maxwell as they couldn't believe he was still alive and well.

"Yeah, Maxie did it! He stood up to Lilith! Oh happy day!" cheered King.

"I can't believe a human kid took on Lilith, won, and lived to tell about it." said Luz as she couldn't belief it but was thrilled.

After they released their arms from him, that's when Maxwell blushed a bit but also was shocked himself. He hardly ever stood up to anyone before as he was so meek but he couldn't believe it when he stood up to someone who hurt him.

"First time I ever stood up to a bully or anyone when they saw me in public when they saw my face." said Maxwell taking a breath.

"How's it feel to stand up to a bully?" asked Luz.

"I'm shaking, probably from almost getting killed. That was terrifying but I can't believe it. I did it with the help of Eda. If this is what standing up for yourself is like when you stand up to a bully or someone who keeps hurting you, than it's no wonder they feel empowered." Maxwell said surprised. "Boy am I tired."

"That's my boy. That's my Maxie." said Eda feeling proud.

Eda pulled Maxwell into her arms and planted her soft lips on Maxwell's cheeks and his lips. She held the kiss to his lips for a bit as he was surprised by this and he blushed. This left the others surprised.

"Wow!" said the others.

Eda pulled her lips off him in a loud pop and Maxwell was stunned as he froze there, he grinned, giggled a bit and fainted backwards which they caught him before he fell. Eda pulled him up into her arms and carried him bridal style as Maxwell was out like a light.

"So the owl lady smooched Maxwell. I didn't expect that." said Gus as if he was shocked and thrilled.

"We got to go." Eda advised.

"What happened to Lilith and how did you two escape her?" asked Luz curiously.

"Lets just say that she got blindsided because we pulled one over her eye." joked Eda as she laughed and snorted. "Wait, I got a better one. She's insane in the membrane."

Gus and Willow hugged Luz before they left and Luz stopped for a moment as she saw Maxwell being carried in Eda's arms.

"Eda, will Maxwell be alright? If he's got this power that could possibly make him more powerful than anyone, do you think there's a chance he can control it?" asked Luz. "I'm worried about him, we didn't find the man we're looking for but what if Maxwell can't control it and something bad happens to him? I can't bare to see him hurt."

Eda stopped as she knew Luz was really worried about Maxwell's well-being and so was King and Eda herself as she looked at Luz, than King and Maxwell as the young boy was regaining his consciousness slowly. She turned to face them.

"I have to say, I'm worried about him too. Those red marks and bruises on his body from what I saw, the fear I see in him at times, the way he's struggling to be functional in the surroundings and society he's in like a person who was kept in isolation set free for the first time. That demonic clown doesn't look like the first person who hurt him, so somebody did this to him." Eda stated. "But if we can't find this man he spoke of, than maybe I can help him control this power. I'm the most powerful witch on the boiling isles, and if he needs to be looked after by those who care about him, than who better to do that than us."

Luz and King looked at each other and nodded as they grinned. Luz and King caught up with Eda and they all walked off while Eda carried Maxwell.

"Now lets go before Lilith finds out that I tied the laces to her pointy shoes together and before she finds out I drew on her face." advised Eda with a grin.

"Ahhhhhhh" came Lilith's screams of anger sounding like a crow. "She drew a mustache on me!"

"Lets bounce." Eda advised.

As they walked out the door of the place and got quite a distance away from the place, they saw Maxwell was slowly waking up but looking tired as he probably heard what they were talking about. They giggled from how peaceful he looked. Lilith couldn't catch up to find out where they were going as they were out of earshot and out of sight. After such a day, Maxwell was tired but his heart was beating fast for someone.


	12. Chapter 12

Days have passed since Maxwell took on Lilith alongside with Eda. Maxwell was a bit silent since than as his heart felt like it was swelling with a sense of confidence but he didn't seem to be the type to show off. Maxwell, Luz and King were in the living room of the owl house as King was looking like he was teaching them a thing or two about demons or from what he knows from his notes.

"So you haven't learned anything about demons in this world, have you, big guy?" said King.

Maxwell shook his head and shook a bit in the body like a chill came over him. Luz was sitting next to him.

"It's not that I didn't want to learn about demons, it's just that when ever learning something like that came up, it was too scary to me so I just avoided it." revealed Maxwell blushing.

Luz patted Maxwell on his head affectionately while she reassured Maxwell.

"Nothing to worry about, Maxie. Learning about this from King is like school back in our world." reassured Luz.

Maxwell felt at ease as he relaxed himself. After King was teaching them about one or more demons from his notes, which some were crayon drawings and some of them were more like notes from a notebook that kids used. They heard thunder clap and they got up.

"So it rains on the boiling isles?" asked Maxwell looking interested.

Maxwell walked towards the door and opened it which both Luz and King followed.

"Maxie, I wouldn't." warned King.

Maxwell ignored him and walked outside as he saw the clouds forming from what looks like rain was coming.

"I remember playing in the rain when ever my dad or anyone didn't know or when ever they weren't looking. I only did it once, I would pretend I was sailing the ocean like a brave pirate." said Maxwell with a smile.

Luz and King tried to warn him but he was ignoring them as he saw a couple of flowers nearby knew they could use rain.

"Rain would help make things grow like a corn field." Maxwell told them.

A drop of rain came down and hit the flowers, and to his surprise, the rain water burned it and turned into ashes.

"Oh shit." Maxwell said surprised.

"Maxie, language!" called Luz.

"I'm sorry." Maxwell told her.

Maxwell looked up and saw some rain drops come down and some other places were getting rained on. Eda ran towards them and she looked like she was running like a track star.

"Boiling rain, everyone inside. Maxie, don't let the rain touch you." called Eda.

Maxwell looked up and some rain drops hit him on his legs and some were on his feet, causing him burning pain and he let out a loud scream.

"Ay, se quema!" screamed Maxwell in pain.

Eda managed to grab hold of Maxwell and with such strength, carried him with one arm and made it inside the owl house.

"Good thing we made and none of you got hurt." said Eda with a grin.

Maxwell wailed in pain from the burns that the rain caused him and Eda saw him looking like he had burn holes in his pants legs. Maxwell was laying on the floor, holding his legs up while he tried to rub the pain away. Luz came to his side and took a look at his legs.

"Awww, Maxie got some burns." Luz said cutely.

"Tend to his burns, I'll get the force field spell going." Eda instructed.

Eda would walk outside and used a gold light that was forming from her hands as she managed to have the force field spell cover the whole house. Luz, King and Maxwell saw her doing this as Maxwell managed to try and stand up as they watched her from the door.

"What is she doing?" groaned Maxwell.

"Force field spell, it'll protect the house from the boiling rain. Nothing to worry, big boy." King reassured.

Eda walked back towards the house and she smiled as she gave an attractive walk which left Maxwell staring at her form, her legs and more as he formed a grin. He saw Eda's hips wiggling, he watched her chest as he noticed that even the clothing she wore showed that she looked like she had a big bulge forming at the chest area as if she looked like she may have a nice set of big breasts.

"Ella me tiene bajo su hechizo." muttered Maxwell with a giggle.

"Say what now?" asked Luz and King in unison.

Maxwell just realized what he just said and remembered Luz knew Spanish like he does, he blushed and his smile faded.

"Nothing!" said Maxwell with a hiccup.

Maxwell walked inside and so did the rest of them but the pain in his legs reawakened as he groaned loudly in pain from the burns.

"Ow, I forgot the burns." said Maxwell in a groan.

Maxwell sat on the couch and spread his legs to try and ease the pain and ease any pressure on his legs.

"Did he say something?" asked Eda.

"He said it way to fast for me to catch that." answered Luz.

They walked over to Maxwell as King pulled out what looked like a box of first aid. Maxwell was breathing in and out to focus on something else other than the burns.

"Lets take a look at those burns, buddy." said King.

Maxwell shook his head as if it was like a five year old whose afraid of getting a shot.

"I'm not dropping my pants and no one's touching the burns." said Maxwell in a shaky voice.

"Maxie, it's alright. We're just going to put some bandages on them." reassure Luz.

"Just pull the leg sleeves up, it's alright." King reassured.

Maxwell felt a bit more comfortable at the suggestion and he pulled the leg sleeves up from his pants and they saw he had nothing but first degree burns which looked like red dots.

"I can do something about this, but always warn me if your ticklish. I'm a bit of a tickler." joked King.

King laughed a bit and started to pull out a can of disinfected spray, he lightly sprayed the burns which did make him shake and groan at first, than he placed band aids on Maxwell's burns which were looking like a band aid would easily fix the problem. Maxwell shed a tear and felt the pain being relieved.

"That's my big brave boy, that didn't hurt now, did it." King told him with encouragement. "Now we're boo boo buddies."

"What kind of weather is that? Those burns hurt." asked Maxwell.

"I told Luz we don't have weather on the boiling isles. We have boiling rain, plagues, gorenados, shale hale and painbows." Eda informed.

Maxwell didn't understand what she told him as he looked clueless.

"What's a painbow?" asked Maxwell.

"It's like a rainbow but looking at it turns you inside out." explained King.

Hearing that made Maxwell gulp and let out a hiccup again. They realized just now that they probably shouldn't alarm him any further.

"It's alright Maxie, that's not going to happen to you, Luz, King or anyone else while I'm around." reassured Eda.

Maxwell let out a sigh of relief as he knew he was safe with them. Luz got up and sat on Maxwell's left side, Eda came over and sat on his right side and King crawled up to sit in his lap.

"Sorry about your pants, Maxie. You got another pair, right?" asked Eda.

Maxwell nodded and Luz patted Maxwell on the back lightly, causing him to let out a sigh of relief.

"When you stood up to my sister, that thing you said sounded like a joke or a pun. Mama said knock you out." Eda laughed at the humor. "Where did you get that one from?"

"It was the name of a rap song." answered Maxwell. "An old rap song before I was born."

"Still sounds like a funny pun that someone says when they give the opponent the finishing blow." said Eda with a grin.

"So you got a thing for rap music?" giggled Luz. "Insane in the membrane."

"Crazy insane, got no brain." chuckled Luz and Maxwell.

Eda laughed a bit as she found the phrase to be another funny joke while King giggled at the sound of it.

"I'm not into that." answered Maxwell.

They fell silent but nearly took a minute for the laughter to stop.

"I was more into rock, pop, rock and roll." Maxwell told them.

"That explains the musical voice of yours." Eda said giggling.

Eda playfully slapped Maxwell on his back, leaving him to blush and let out a cough which was probably trying to hide a gasp.

"Boys with a voice like that can turn into a total chick magnet overnight." Eda commented. "Did you ever attract any attention from some girls back at home?"

"Uhhhhh, no." said Maxwell nervously. "I didn't have the courage to even talk to them at the time."

"Any girl would be lucky to have you as their boyfriend." Luz said trying to inject some confidence in him.

"Bet he knows what romantic fireworks are like now when Eda gave him a smoochie." teased King making kissy sounds.

King was laughing about the time when Eda kissed Maxwell when Eda was doing a victory dance when they caught Lilith cheating as she was taunting her sister for it. Eda looked annoyed while Maxwell blushed deeply.

"King, you do know that I know where your tickly spot is and me or Luz could tickle you without mercy." Eda said with a comeback.

"Alright, just give me a minute to stop laughing." said King.

King took a minute to stop and he got up to look right at Maxwell.

"So Maxie, did you ever have a preference in a girl?" asked King curiously.

Maxwell didn't have a clue as he hesitated a little at first. Both Luz and Eda felt tense for a moment as if they wondered if Maxwell's preference in a girl would be too graphic.

"I don't know. I only noticed one girl back at home and I found out she wasn't the one for me." answered Maxwell.

Eda and Luz were relieved as if afraid he wasn't single. King got curious to who this girl was.

"Who was this girl?" asked King.

"Doesn't matter, she was out of my league anyway." answered Maxwell looking like he wasn't bothered by it.

They all looked like they could tell that this bothered him. A girl he liked turned out to be in a relationship already would sting a little to some.

"Well, if that girl can't see what a sweet boy you are and that she'd be lucky to date you, than that's her loss." said Luz kindly.

Luz pulled Maxwell in for a hug and that did seem to help him feel like it cushioned the blow.

"Thanks for showing me compassion about this." said Maxwell with a grin.

"You know, big boy. Maybe that special girl is closer than you think." said Eda with a grin. "I've dated plenty of guys and I turned out alright."

Maxwell looked at Eda with a look of surprise. He was starting to wonder how her dating life was, he didn't dare to read her mind about that because he knew that would be wrong.

"Is it alright of me to ask how those dates turned out?" asked Maxwell curiously.

"Let's just say that I've dated better or worse, much worse." said Eda informing him.

"And I understand it's none of my business." said Maxwell as if obeying a direct order. "I mean it's none of _our_ business."

"That's not what you said the first time." giggled King.

"I-I-I-I-I-I don't know what your talking about." stuttered Maxwell nervously.

"You said my and not our." King teased.

"I got to wash my hands." said Maxwell really fast.

Maxwell ran faster than a rocket car on the land speed record as he went to the bathroom.

"That was too far, was it?" asked King.

"A little bit." said Luz.

"Sorry about that, but if a hot girl ever does go for him, lets keep an eye on him in case he gets overwhelmed." King advised.

"Agreed." they all said.

While they knew that Maxwell was probably needing to calm himself. Maxwell was looking at himself in the mirror of the bathroom. As he was in there, he felt his own heart beating rapidly as something came to his mind. Out of every nice girl he knows at the boiling isles, he didn't know which one of them has him love struck.


	13. Chapter 13

A couple of days passed as the boiling rain ended after the night it had started. During those two days, Maxwell avoided talking about any subjects that involved girls and relationships involving it as if he felt like he nearly blabbed about his feelings about a girl he likes. It was morning and Maxwell was pacing in the living room back and forth.

"Hey Maxie, something on your mind? Hoot hoot?" asked Hooty.

"Thinking." answered Maxwell.

"Why pace?" asked Luz.

"It helps me think better when I'm thinking very hard." Maxwell told them.

King walked in and saw this going on while he was scratching his head.

"Something on his mind?" asked King.

"A little bit." answered Maxwell.

"Thinking about hot girls, are you?" teased King.

Maxwell stopped pacing as he just stood there, blushing and letting out a hiccup, a very loud hiccup. King was giggling.

"Uhhhhh no I'm not?" said Maxwell as if in denial.

"Hahaha, Maxie waxie is thinking about hot girls." joked King laughing.

"I am not." said Maxwell annoyed.

"So tell me, Maxie. Whose the lucky girl? Is she a sweet innocent school girl or is she a rebellious bad girl?" joked King. "Relax, big guy. I'm only kidding."

"Oh. You guys talking about bad girls?" said a smiling Eda.

Eda walked in and she giggled at what she just said as she looked like she was screwing her left hand back on like twisting a jar's lid back on. Maxwell managed to regain his composure but he saw that Eda had her hand off and saw the bone, the fingers were still moving.

"Did you just screw your hand back on like a lid to a jar?" said Maxwell surprised. "Oh my God, the fingers are still moving."

"Not worry, champ. This happens at times but I'm in control of it." Eda reassured.

Eda let out a chuckle while Maxwell gulped. He had no idea that Eda had limb anatomy like magic. She had a big bag on her as she pulled it over to them.

"You guys are going to be going around town to sell some potions to some of my clients around the town. I should say it's one of them days." Eda informed. "King will accompany Luz and you."

"We're doing what now?" asked Maxwell looking confused as he scratched his head.

Eda and King had looked surprised as they forgot that they didn't inform Maxwell about this sort of part of their lives. Luz was catching onto this too.

"Oh, he doesn't know." said Eda, King and Luz in unison.

Maxwell was clueless as at first till his mind was exploring the minds of King ad Luz for a bit, flashes of images came to his head as he started to see what they meant.

"Selling potions around the town and you got competitors?" said Maxwell.

"Read Eda's mind?" asked King.

"Just Luz and King. So much going on in there." said Maxwell.

Luz and King looked at each other and giggled.

"I half expected you to explore my mind." Eda giggled.

"I can't do that." Maxwell said looking at his feet. "I may have read your mind to find out your name but I wouldn't dare do it again, that would be an invasion of a woman's privacy."

Eda and Luz were surprised to hear this. It was like they heard the words of a gentlemen speaking. Eda stood in front of Maxwell.

"Your telling me the truth, Maxie?" asked Eda looking serious. "Look at me."

Maxwell slowly looked up at Eda and his heart raced, causing him to blush once more.

"Your telling me the truth?" asked Eda again.

"Yes ma'am, I am." said Maxwell quickly as he let out a breath.

A smile appeared on Eda's face as she gave Maxwell an affectionate head pat.

"I may have informed Luz about this before but Maxie, I should also tell you this too. One, never trust a man in causal drapery, never befriend a man in sandals and always measure twice, not once." instructed Eda. "Understood?"

Maxwell nodded as he was showing he was listening to her. Eda placed a hand on Maxwell's left cheek and lifted his head up to have him look at her.

"If you don't know what to do, just let Luz and King take care of things since they've done this before." instructed Eda once more.

"I'll do my best." said Maxwell understanding her advise.

Eda let go of Maxwell's cheek and the young boy walked off as him, King and Luz walked out the door.

_"He's so thinking of a hot, bad girl."_ said Eda to herself with a grin.

While out and about, Luz, King and Maxwell were going around selling potions in the town of Bonesborough, Maxwell volunteered to carry the bag as he proved to be very strong. The people they were going around to were a mix of normal or odd. One was a plump woman who was a cheek pincher when she found Maxwell adorable, another was a four foot tall male elf mistaken Luz and Maxwell for being a couple, another was a large lady who kept offering them sweets while Maxwell got tempted into trying but he went crazy with hyperactive energy. They had all of this done in a matter of two hours.

"Looks like that was the last of them." said King.

"I can't believe Maxie jumped thirty feet into the air when he had the sugar rush." Luz said in surprise.

"I'm glad that our last stop had given me something for my headache. What was in that huge doughnut?" said Maxwell shaking a bit. "No more sugar, please."

"Lets give him another doughnut and watch him go nuts again." giggled King.

Maxwell let out a groan and shook his head as a response.

"Oh come on, it'll be funny." King joked. "I'm kidding."

They stopped and took a minute to examine Maxwell in case if he felt sick from the amount of sugar he had in his system which he assured them he was alright and just waiting for the headache to go down. The walked off but were stopped by two people who waved at them. One being a girl and the other a boy, both teenagers with green hair, the boy's hair was short, the girl's was long and in a braided ponytail. Both appeared to look like identical twins.

"Hey Luz?" called one of them.

The two walked over to them and they were stopped. Looking right at them had Maxwell feeling a bit nervous as he went completely silent.

"How's it going for you guys?" asked the female.

"Just got done taking care of an errand, or more." answered Luz.

The twins looked right at Maxwell and Maxwell looked down at his feet, his shyness taking over him. The twins smiled.

"Whose your human friend? We heard mittens talking about him." asked the male.

"This is Maxwell, he's staying with us but be nice to him. He's had it a bit rough." Luz informed them.

"Emira and Edric Blight, older siblings of Amity Blight, age difference between the twins would two minutes apart, engaging in a bit of mischief at times, breaking rules and skipping school." said Maxwell. "I don't like that."

Emira and Edric both were surprised as if they never expected him to know who they are.

"I take it Luz told you about us." said Edric.

"Nope, your minds are not a closed book." answered Maxwell.

"Cool, he can read minds." said Emira looking thrilled. "And a southerner's accent."

Emira walked over to Maxwell to face him and tried to get him to look at her as she giggled from seeing how Maxwell was trying not to look at her.

"Awww, he's shy around girls." Emira said as if finding this to be cute.

Emira reached out to pinch Maxwell's cheeks for a bit.

"Southerners are so cute." giggled Emira. "He's cute when he's nervous."

"Uhhh Luz, help." Maxwell said nervously.

Luz quickly folded her arms and gave Emira the look that told her to cease and desist. Emira stopped as she took her hands off his face.

"I think Emira likes you." said Edric giggling.

Emira reached out to place her hand on Maxwell's cheek which left his heart racing from nervousness.

"Maxwell, are you afraid of pretty girls?" asked Emira looking sympathetic towards him.

Maxwell was silent and tried his hardest not to blush, even if his heart was beating faster than a motorcycle at full speed limit.

"I have a headache." said Maxwell.

"Sorry to hear that. Would a bit of something sweet to eat help?" suggested Edric.

Just hearing about someone offering Maxwell more sweets got his stomach to gurgle and his face nearly went green. They all saw this didn't look good.

"I'll take that as a no?" guessed Edric.

"No more sweets or I'm gonna hurl." Maxwell groaned.

"Too much sugar?" asked Emira.

"You have no idea." said King.

The feeling Maxwell had passed faster than the subject being dropped. The color in his face came back. Emira pulled Maxwell in her arms for a hug as if to help him feel better. Maxwell blushed and was sensing vibes from these twins he didn't like. Maxwell felt his body having a bit of pressure in his lower body building as he knew what that meant.

"Where's the bathroom?" asked Maxwell nervously.

Emira quickly pulled her arms off him and saw Maxwell clenched his legs together.

"Got to go use it?" asked Luz.

"I really got to go or I'll go in my pants." grunted Maxwell.

"Luz, could we escort your friend to the bathroom? We'll bring him right back." Edric offered. "We know where the closest bathroom is."

"Oh my word, please hurry." Maxwell pleaded as he looked strained.

"Okay, but don't let him get lost, don't let anyone hurt him and no funny business." Luz warned.

Emira and Edric nodded and Emira lead Maxwell by the hand as those twins were taking him towards the bathroom. Luz and King both saw them walk off till they were out of sight.

"Your gonna follow them, are you?" King guessed.

"After what happened when I first met them, you bet we are." said Luz.

Luz and King followed Maxwell, Emira and Edric to make sure that the twins were not up to any funny business. Luz's mother bear instincts were kicking in as she wasn't trusting Emira and Edric's instincts.

As Luz and King followed, both Emira and Edric lead Maxwell to a part of Bonesborough that looked like a place where people hang out on a day off. Maxwell groaned as he really felt the urge to use the bathroom got stronger.

"Oh please hurry guys. I feel like I'm gonna die this way." Maxwell begged.

"Calm down, little man. We're almost there." said Edric trying to keep calm.

They lead him to a public bathroom that had the boy's bathroom on the left and the girls on the right. Maxwell raced into the boy's bathroom and finally went to use one of the stalls. Emira and Edric waited for him outside as it took a minute or more for Maxwell to get his business done. The sound of a toilet flushing was heard as he came out of there with a relieved grin.

"Sweet Jesus, that was a close call." said Maxwell.

"Feel better?" asked Emira.

"Like when the football team, Georgian Bulldogs won the championship in the eighties." said Maxwell with a grin.

"What now?" asked Emira looking dumbfounded.

"Sports team in the human world." explained Maxwell.

"Oh." said Emira and Edric.

Maxwell stretched his back and let out a relieved grunt. He was about to walk off but Emira stopped him.

"Wait, wanna have some fun before you go back?" asked Emira.

"But I wanna go back with Luz and King." said Maxwell as if he didn't understand.

Emira giggled and pulled Maxwell in for another hug, leaving him a bit surprised as if he had no idea what was next. She looked up at him.

"It won't be long, sweetie." suggested Emira.

Emira reached her hand out to gently scratch underneath Maxwell's chin which left him blushing and feeling relaxed. Was Emira flirting with him?

"I guess I could have a little fun." said Maxwell shaking in a relaxed tone.

Emira grinned and blew Maxwell a kiss with her lips. Maxwell blushed as they lead him to a nearby part of the area they were in.

"Max, watch this." said Edric.

Maxwell watched Edric snapped his fingers and green light formed from his hands as he formed his hands to make it look like he's pulling something down which some group of male wizard teenagers suddenly had their pants fall down and their underwear was seen.

"What the fuck, that shit is not funny." said one of them male teenagers.

They quickly pulled their pants up and ran while Edric and Emira giggled and grinned at this prank they pulled. Maxwell snapped back to reality and looked at them with disbelief.

"What was that for? They didn't do anything." Maxwell said disappointed.

"Oh come on, they needed to lighten up a bit when they rat people out for skipping school." said Emira looking unfazed.

Maxwell couldn't believe this and this wasn't his idea of fun.

"Awww, we know something that'll help you feel better, cutie." said Emira cutely.

Both Emira and Edric winked at each other as they walked over to Maxwell and began to place their hands on Maxwell's chest and belly as they began to tickle him, causing him to laugh and squirm.

"Hahahaha, No! Stop it!" laughed Maxwell.

"We see that smile on your face." teased Edric.

They laughed eagerly as they kept tickling Maxwell while he laughed loudly as if tickling was his weakness or weak spot.

"He's so cute when he laughs." teased Emira.

"Stop it! Please!" laughed Maxwell. "Luz, King, someone, help! Hahahahaha. Make it stop."

"You guys don't know when to stop, do you?" came a female's voice.

They stopped tickling Maxwell as they looked to see that Amity was nearby. As Maxwell caught his breath, he tried to look serious as he felt a slight contempt and fear towards Amity a bit.

"Amity." said Maxwell with a hiccup.

"Human." said Amity with no emotion.

Amity looked towards Maxwell with her stoic expression which she suddenly gave him a hostile and angry look, making a loud stomp with her foot which caused Maxwell to flinch. She apparently was still holding hostility towards him from last time.

"Emira, Edric, I saw what you just did." Amity snapped.

"Oh come on, Mittens. That was funny." teased Emira.

Amity let out a growl and glared at them which Maxwell's expression changed a bit. He remembered when he read their minds, he remembered some of the pranks they pulled and their mischievous acts.

"Oh Mittens, you need to learn to have some fun." said Edric.

"You guys don't get along?" said Maxwell looking surprised.

Emira looked at Maxwell and placed her right hand on Maxwell's chest, causing him to blush and go silent.

"Mittens is a kill joy to fun, besides, she teased you so you should at least try to pull a joke on her for her to know how it feels." said Emira. "Like if she had a love letter about someone and post it all over the school."

Maxwell was stunned to be hearing them. He was thinking that Amity and her siblings would get along with how they are but he also didn't like what he's hearing.

"I can't do that." Maxwell said with a hiccup. "That's overdoing it like a burnt steak at a steakhouse."

Amity cracked her knuckles and kept looking hostile towards Maxwell as that had him afraid to even speak to her or even look at her, which he looked away towards Emira and Edric.

"Most southerners are good, friendly people, we do our utmost best to welcome new neighbors, we have strong traditions, we try to treat people with common decency, even if someone doesn't deserve it. If no one can respect that, we'll still be polite people. We call it southern hospitality." said Maxwell as if trying to convince them to stop. "We're good people, we're a little stubborn at times about some things here and there, but we're good people, it's the way mother's raised them."

"Liar! You may look like a show off that gets the girls for you but your just a wimp who can't defend himself. Your just a phony." Amity snapped at him. "Why don't you get out of here, you don't belong here."

"B-b-b-b-but." stuttered Maxwell.

"GET OUT, NOW!" shouted Amity.

The way Amity snapped at Maxwell nearly caused him to break down in tears as he looked down. He fought hard not to cry. Amity smiled maliciously.

"Cry baby." Amity smugly insulted.

"Hey you assholes!" called a loud male's voice.

They all froze and saw a muscular male teenaged wizard walking towards them and he looked very irate from the look on his face. Maxwell tried to regain his composure.

"You pantsed me and my friends. What's the hell is the matter with you." he said sharply.

"But it wasn't my idea." said Maxwell starting to panic.

"Yeah right, it was you and her!" said the muscular male teen pointing at Amity and Maxwell.

Amity's face had a look of surprise and shock. She shook her head as if to convince him she didn't do it.

"Whoa there, she didn't do it." Maxwell said backing up. "We don't hit women."

"It wasn't me ether." Amity said getting into a stance.

He first went for Maxwell and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, lifting him up into the air as he formed a fist in his other hand, ready to punch him out as Maxwell dangled.

"No, I swear we didn't do it." Maxwell said in a panic.

"Kiss your face good bye, asshole." threatened the male teenager.

Emira and Edric didn't like this at all but were not sure what to do. Something kicked into Amity as she was about to get into a stance to fight back, only one idea came to mind for Maxwell.

"MAMA LUZ!" shouted Maxwell loudly.

Amity quickly snapped her fingers and a purple light formed from her hands as she drew what looked like a symbol into the ground and she slapped her hand on it which what looked like a rope formed and it lashed out to trip the bully and the bully fell to his sides, making Maxwell land on his feet and he ran towards Amity to hide behind her, shaking in fear.

"Amity, do something! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Maxwell begged her desperately.

This surprised Amity but also annoyed her a bit as the male bully got up and she placed her hands out in the air to create a huge purple shield that covered her and Maxwell as the male bully came over to them and tried to punch through the force field but to no avail.

"Come on out!" shouted the male wizard.

"We didn't do it! It was Emira and Edric over there." Amity told him.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" growled the male bully.

Luz and King heard this as they ran towards him and where there in a flash. They saw Amity use her force field to push the bully away and it pushed him several feet or more away.

"You, leave my baby alone!" called Luz.

"Yeah, leave our buddy alone." called King.

The muscular male teenager stopped and Luz had a serious look on her face as she folded her arms in discontent. She stood by Amity as both Amity and Luz pulled Maxwell up to his feet while Luz was burning mad about how the male bully made Maxwell cry.

"I caught him and this girl pantsing me and my friends as a joke. Stay out of this." he snapped.

"We didn't do nothing, it was all Emira and Edric's idea. They did it, they did it, they did it." Maxwell pleaded as tears ran down his face. "Luz, make it stop."

The muscular teenaged male looked at the twins and the twins were smiling nervously which caused him to now believe it was Emira and Edric and his rage was about to turn towards them but Luz walked up to him as she looked ready to go into mama bear mode.

"Young man, leave him alone. Beating people up for pranking you is wrong, sure, Emira and Edric deserve to be taught a lesson but beating people up isn't one of them. I'll handle them two, so leave my baby alone and leave my friend alone or you got two choices. One, I tell your mother." warned Luz.

The muscular male teenager's rage rapidly faded as if fear was invading his mind.

"What's the other choice?" he asked.

"Second choice is I kick your ass till you can't walk." threatened Amity as she cracked her knuckles. "Leave him alone, now!"

The fear and intimidation that the muscular male teenaged wizard felt was leaving him sweating a bit and he finally backed down.

"Okay, but please don't tell me mom." said the male wizard letting out a sigh.

"We'll handle these two?" said Luz pointing to Emira and Edric.

The male wizard nodded and walked off while Maxwell felt so relieved as Luz hugged the terrified Maxwell. Luz and King were rocking him back and forth a bit as it helped to comfort him and he calmed down, wiping the tears from his face. Luz looked at Emira and Edric with a stern look.

"You said you would take Maxwell to the bathroom and now I see Amity trying to keep someone from hurting Maxwell and Amity." said Luz walking towards them and stopped. "What, did, you, two, do!"

"It was just a joke." said Emira.

"Mentirosos!" cried Maxwell.

Maxwell explained to them what was going on from start to finish and this left Luz and King looking to be worried for Maxwell and Amity but looking unamused towards Emira and Edric.

"You two lied, both to me and Maxwell. You put both Maxwell and Amity in danger because of your prank. What do you two have to say for yourselves?" Luz told him giving them a look of disapproval.

"We didn't mean for that to happen, sorry." said Edric.

"You should apologize to Maxwell and Amity." instructed Luz.

"Your serious?" said Emira nervously.

"SAY IT!" shouted Amity.

Emira and Edric shook from Amity's tone of voice, they looked towards Maxwell and Amity, knowing this is probably inevitable.

"Sorry." said Emira and Edric. "We're sorry for what we did."

"Just so you two know, if you two keep bullying Amity, or end up causing anyone else any trouble, than I have no choice." said Maxwell regaining his composure.

Emira and Edric's smiles faded a bit, not knowing what he was talking about.

"What would you do?" asked Edric looking worried.

"I'd tell your folks." answered Maxwell. "I know about the incident you caused at the library and more."

"You know that?" said Emira looking shocked.

"Your minds are an open book and I know everything you did." said Maxwell warningly.

Emira and Edric now saw this was like getting into trouble with their teachers but a bit different since Maxwell, Luz, King and Amity were younger.

"But you don't really know our folks." said Emira as if unfazed.

"I'd be telling our parents along with them." Amity chimed in.

Now Emira and Edric were starting to look convinced. They never saw Amity threatening to tell on them to their parents before, especially with others backing her up.

"Oh come on, you wouldn't really tell our parents, would you?" asked Emira.

"I would." said Luz, King, Maxwell and Amity in unison.

The twins looked at each other and back at them, letting out a sigh, looking defeated.

"Okay." said Emira and Edric.

"Also, you two need to start being nice Amity. You guys are siblings, you got to stop fighting. What ever reasons there are that cause you guys to be at war with each other, it has to stop. Siblings are suppose to love each other, not make each other miserable." Luz told them as if trying to inject compassion in them. "And you shouldn't have pulled that prank, Amity and Maxie almost got hurt."

Luz didn't yell at them but she was being tough but fair while Edric and Emira were starting to see that if they disobey, their parents will know of their actions while at the same time were feeling relieved that Luz didn't yell at them. Amity was starting to feel like a weight was lifted off her back from hearing this.

"As long as you two at least try to be nice to each other and be nice Amity, than we won't tell on you, but if you two so much as continue your mischief or treat Amity horribly or if you put any of my friends in danger, regardless if it was by accident or not, than your parents will hear about this." said Luz warning them.

"Okay." said Emira and Edric.

Emira suddenly walked over to Maxwell as she was about to go in for a kiss to his cheek but he raised his hand and stopped her.

"Emira, I'm flattered and all but I'm not really interested in a relationship with you like that." Maxwell told her politely. "You got to get to know a guy first and I kind of have my eyes on another girl already. I'm sorry."

Emira blushed briefly but she smiled as she nodded, showing she understood.

"Alright cutie, I'll keep that in mind." said Emira. "Your sweet, and I'm really sorry."

As Emira and Edric walked off, they felt as though they were relieved to have been shown some mercy. Amity, King and Luz looked back at Maxwell.

"You already have an eye on a girl already, huh?" said King blushing.

"I apologize but that was a lie. I told Emira that because I wasn't really interested in being her boyfriend or anything, so I told a little lie because I didn't want to hurt feelings." lied Maxwell. "Like I said, I don't like hurting people."

After everything Amity had just seen and heard, she looked towards Maxwell and he looked back at her. Maxwell was seeing something in her mind and it was looking like an image of Amity hugging Maxwell, causing him to feel compassion wash over him.

"Just so you know, this never happened." said Amity about to talk off.

"Amity wait, please." asked Maxwell going towards her.

Maxwell felt a sense of compassion coming over him that he felt towards Amity as he now felt there was something that he had to say to her. He let out a breath. Amity stopped and looked right at him, giving her full attention to him. Maxwell suddenly pulled Amity in his arms to hug her, leaving her wide eyed with surprise.

"Uhhhh Luz, he's hugging me?" said Amity feeling confused.

"I think he's warmed up to you." Luz told her.

"Thank you." Maxwell with a sigh.

"Wait, what?" said Amity surprised.

"Amity, I have to apologize for something. I'm sorry for blurting out your middle name, for threatening to shave your head, how I dissed you at the school and for calling you princess when you obviously didn't like that. For one, I was never going to shave your head or tell anyone about your middle name, I just said that because I didn't want you to blab about me and Luz being in there, Principal Bump and I had an unpleasant encounter before, that, and I don't really know how to shave anyone's head, I don't even know how to cut hair which is why I let a barber do it." apologized Maxwell with a sigh. "I'm sorry that we got on the wrong foot and I'm sorry for what I did and for what I said, just please don't hate me."

Amity was stunned, hearing a heart felt apology from someone she didn't like at first and showing that he meant it? She was feeling surprised but than she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him back. Now Maxwell was surprised as he didn't expect a hug from Amity, since she was so stoic.

"I'm sorry too." Amity said in his ear.

Amity and Maxwell eventually pulled their arms off each other and she had a look of compassion showing.

"I know I haven't been the nicest witch at first, especially towards you or any of your friends. Luz had once shown me that she really is a true friend to someone like me, and it looks like you are too." said Amity kindly. "I'm still working on being nicer."

"I know you can do it, Amity." said Luz having faith in her.

Amity let out a sigh and she confessed how she treated Maxwell earlier, she told her everything from what she said and done and she even told her that she yelled at Maxwell and it nearly lead him to cry. Luz understood why Amity told her this.

"Amity, I'm glad you told me, and I'm glad you defended Maxie in his time of need." Luz told her kindly. "But lets try to avoid yelling at Maxie, his dad yelled at him a lot and it looks like it really hurt him."

Amity looked at Maxwell for a bit as if she reached an understanding about how Maxwell is the way he is. She was in disbelief for a moment but looked back at Luz.

"Maybe your right about what you said about southerners." said Amity sounding kind.

Amity placed her hand on Maxwell's shoulder as proof she really meant her words. Maxwell felt like her compassion seeped through his heart.

"Thank you for telling me what you told me, even though I don't deserve it after what I said and did." said Amity. "Maxwell, Luz, did you have any siblings? You sound like you knew what your talking about when you told my siblings what you said."

"I'm an only child, my mom is happy to at least have one kid." Luz admitted.

They looked towards Maxwell and he let out a sigh as he knew what he was about to tell them was going to sound saddening.

"I don't have any siblings either." Maxwell said finally.

"I see. But I'm glad you told me this." said Amity.

Amity looked at King and she remembered how she treated King when they first interacted with one another. She reached into what looked like a bag she had on her and pulled out a large cupcake. King's eyes looked towards her.

"Would this make up for what I did before?" Amity asked.

"Are you trying to apologize to me from how you treated me when we first crossed paths by buttering me up with a sugary sweet?" said King starting look serious but than looked right at her and the cupcake as if feeling like it was an apology. "If so, than it's working."

Amity handed King the cupcake and he devoured it whole, tasting it as he chewed it up and swallowed it all down. Letting out a burp.

"Strawberry flavored, so good." King said dreamily. "Thanks for, you know."

Amity nodded as she understood and as Luz carried King in her arms, both Luz, King, Maxwell and Amity walked off as Amity headed in a separate direction.

"Amity, you have my back, we have yours." Maxwell told her.

Amity heard this and she came back to Maxwell once more as she pulled him in for a kiss to his cheeks. This left Maxwell to blush deeply. Amity gave him a wink and smile.

"Understood." Amity told him.

She placed her hand on his cheek and walked off. Maxwell smiled and almost fainted but Luz managed to catch him to prevent it. One Amity was out of earshot and out of sight, both Luz, King and Maxwell walked off and headed towards the owl house.

"Maxie's a ladies man." giggled King.

"Oh King, you lovable goofball." said Luz cutely.

Maxwell seemed to ignore King's little joke as Luz gave King a gentle belly scratch to distract him from his joke which relaxed him. They made it to the owl house and walked inside. Eda as coming out from the hallway and into the living room.

"Your all back. How did it go?" asked Eda curiously.

Maxwell fell silent and Luz grinned a bit along with King.

"Good news is we got everything done." Luz informed.

"That's cool to hear." said Eda. "How was it, Maxie?"

Maxwell looked down and let out a loud hiccup.

"I think I made friend." Maxwell admitted. "I need to lay down for a bit."

Maxwell suddenly fainted to the floor on his back, looking tired out. King giggled.

"Wow, almost made it." King joked.

Eda walked over to Maxwell and picked him up as she laid him down on the couch, grinning and giggling. She stood up.

"We should let him take a nap. I know I would be tired out if it was a tiring trip." advised Eda.

Eda planted her soft lips to Maxwell's cheeks in a kiss which left him to smile and blush as deep as possible. Eda, King and Luz let him sleep as they walked off, probably to wash up. Eda stopped to look back at Maxwell.

_"I'll never let anything happen to you, Luz or King."_ said Eda to herself.

She looked right at him for a minute and she walked off. Maxwell felt his heart was racing from the kisses but he seemed to have a sense of compassion and understanding towards Amity now.


	14. Chapter 14

A day had gone by since Maxwell had seen a softer side to Amity and that Luz informed him about how she started to become friends with her as well, causing him to feel as though Luz brings out the better in others. Luz, King, Eda and Maxwell were out in the market place as they were running an errand. Luz, King and Maxwell were sitting down on a bench as Eda was nearby.

"People watching on the boiling isles is much more interesting." said Luz.

"What's people watching?" asked Maxwell curiously.

Luz and King looked right at Maxwell as if surprised to hear him ask. Maxwell was a bit clueless to what they were talking about.

"It's just where you watch people in public from a distance, without them knowing and you can observe what they're like from how they interact with others." explained Luz.

"Didn't you ever do that before, big guy?" asked King placing his hand on his side.

Maxwell shook his head as he understood what people watching is now but he just never done it before.

"I've never done that before. I always thought they called it stalking." said Maxwell blushing a bit.

"It's not stalking, it's just watching people on how they interact, without them knowing and we sometimes imagine them in a very interesting situation." Luz told him.

Maxwell started to understand what people watching is as he looked up and the first person he saw from a distance looked like full grown female Cyclops lady. He was imagining her as a dancer who teaches kids how to dance at a studio. He was at least having a little fun.

"I think I get it now. That lady Cyclops over there could be a dance teacher who teaches kids to dance." Maxwell pointed out.

Luz and King saw who he pointed out to them and they only saw this lady from the back, but than they heard this Cyclops speak in a deep voice and turned around. They all blushed as they saw the face of the this Cyclops person.

"That's no lady." said King shaking from surprise.

"That's a man." said Maxwell disgusted. "Where's a bucket of cold water when you need one and I'll throw up in it after it's empty."

"It's alright guys, this kind of thing happens. Back at home when I was six, I met a guy my mom knew and I thought he was a she but it turned out he was just playing the part of a woman in a theater play. Boy was I shocked." said Luz with a word of comfort.

King and Maxwell felt a bit better hearing that. Eda had walked over towards them and she looked a bit annoyed but worried.

"How'd it go?" asked Luz.

"So far, not good. I'm down to one of the elixirs to keep my curse at bay and that's not good, I already taken it. So I'm out till tomorrow." answered Eda.

"What curse?" asked Maxwell curiously.

As Luz, King and Maxwell got up, they all looked right at him as they had no idea if he knew or if he didn't know about Eda's curse.

"Why are you all looking at me?" asked Maxwell nervously.

"Maxie, do you know what a curse is" asked Eda.

"Swear words?" Maxwell guessed.

They shook their heads and Maxwell was starting to catch onto what they meant about what curse.

"Should we tell him?" Eda suggested.

"Well lets not alarm him." Luz advised.

Maxwell was feeling like he was left out of some information he needed to know like people who lie in police interrogations. Eda reached out to place her hand on Maxwell's back, causing him to blush.

"Maxie, long time ago when I was young, I got cursed, I don't remember who cursed me but I take this elixir to keep the curse at bay. If I don't take it, well." Eda stopped as she looked towards Luz.

Maxwell was listening but wondered what she was meaning by the end of it. Luz pulled out her phone and showed him a picture of Eda's monster curse form. There were some pictures and a video on her phone of it and he was now wide eyed at the sight of it. Maxwell gulped loudly.

"You mean if she doesn't take it, she becomes?" said Maxwell looking as though he was about to freak out.

They nodded and Eda placed her hand on his chin and slowly lifted his head up to face her face to face. His heart racing and he felt his fear seem to double as he was too afraid to say anything or to even move on is own.

"Now Maxie, it's alright. You got nothing worry about, I know how to handle this. Trust me on this." said Eda with a word of comfort.

"That's w-w-w-what I'm a-a-a-afraid of." stuttered Maxwell.

Eda placed her hand on Maxwell's head as she gently and playfully patted him on his head as if to inject some comfort into him.

"Luz actually knows what to do when my curse form takes over and she manages to get me back to my real self. She's done it before." Eda told him.

"That makes it a little better." said Maxwell feeling a bit comforted.

"Lets head out." said Eda.

Luz took Maxwell's hand and held him by the hand which not only did that have him feeling a sense of comfort but a little nervous at the same time. He always felt comfortable around her but never expected she'd hold his hand. Just as they were walking off, someone pulled Maxwell by the other hand, he lost his grip with Luz and was pulled into the arms of a woman who appeared to be in her twenties, at least six feet tall with a curvy appearance, big lips with pink lipstick, she looked like she had huge breasts and a big butt with long blue hair, she wore what looked like a pink and red kimono. She looked like a bimbo.

"Oh looky here, you look much cuter up close, big boy." said the lady flirting.

"What?" said Maxwell feeling his heart rapidly accelerating.

"Oh come on, I saw you with those two girls and what looks like a pet. You got to be dating them or something." the lady teased.

"What, I'm not, or, I'm, well, I don't know." Maxwell told her feeling confused.

"Oh, maybe we should start dating." said the lady blowing kisses at him.

This lady was flirting with him and hugging him a bit tight and close. Maxwell wasn't liking this one bit.

"Uhhhh Luz, Eda, King, a little help here? Make this lady stop." called Maxwell.

The lady was about to kiss him and Maxwell felt like this was stranger danger from what Eda advises about.

"EDA HELP!" shouted Maxwell.

Eda, Luz and King turned to see this and they rushed to Maxwell's side.

"Hey lady, have you ever thought he's not playing hard to get?" Eda warned.

The lady stopped and Maxwell managed to break free from her grip as he ran towards Eda and hidden behind her, shaking a little.

"Wait, are you his mother?" she asked.

"That's really none of your business." snapped Eda. "As a heads up, if you like someone, don't approach them that way, it scares them. If they show no interest, than your better off looking for someone else."

The lady with the blue hair saw that Eda was giving her a very serious look that told her to back off. She let out a sigh and huff.

"Okay lady, your no fun." the lady said in a huff.

The lady walked off as she looked as though she was hoping to get a date with Maxwell but Eda stopped her as this lady left and was defeated. Luz hugged Maxwell to comfort him.

"Is she gone, Eda?" asked Maxwell.

"Nothing to worry about kiddo. She's not dating you if I'm around." Eda answered.

Maxwell let out a sigh of relief and Luz patted him on the back.

"Sorry we didn't notice at first." Luz apologized.

"It's alright, she caught me out of nowhere. And I'm not into women like her." Maxwell revealed and he went silent.

"What sort of women?" asked King.

Maxwell just realized this got their attention in a different form. Luz and Eda looked as though they were hoping to hear something they expected or were worried to hear something that sounded like bad news.

"Let me guess, your not into those who are too rough, aggressive and if they don't take no for an answer and if they don't listen to you?" King gave his best guess.

"Sure, lets go with that." Maxwell told him with a hiccup. "Can we go?"

They lead the way and figured this was a subject that they shouldn't bother Maxwell with. Luz pulled Maxwell in for a hug which helped him feel better.

"That lady back there, she didn't, you know?" asked Luz looking concern.

"No, she just tried to kiss me and hugged me too tight. I'm surprised she didn't break my back." answered Maxwell.

"Makes me wonder if there's a girl here you like." said King.

Maxwell blushed and let out a slight cough. Luz and Eda wondered about this too.

"I don't know yet." Maxwell lied.

"Well, one day you'll know. But if the girl breaks your heart." Eda began.

"We'll tear her to shreds." said Eda, Luz and King in unison.

Maxwell looked at all three of them, surprised to see their mama bear instincts pop out of them like popcorn. They realized what they just said was being told out loud.

"Too aggressive?" Eda guessed.

"A little." answered Maxwell.

"Hey Maxie, looky here." said King.

As Maxwell looked towards King, the little male demon crossed his eyes and out flopped his long, thick, wide and huge purple tongue. He made silly noises as if to attempt to make Maxwell laugh.

"Where's that smile and laugh. I'm gonna make Maxie waxie laugh." teased King.

Maxwell looked as though he was doing his best not to laugh or smile. King placed one hand under his armpit and moved his arm on it over and over as he made loud but fake farting sounds.

"Oh my, I think I had too many cans of beans." joked King.

Maxwell couldn't fight it no longer and he burst out laughing with a grin. King managed to laugh and giggle.

"Ooooh, your smiling, I got you to laugh. The king of demons got a kid to laugh." giggled King.

Luz smiled as she kissed King on his forehead and hugged him in her arms.

"Your such a cutie for caring for others and making them laugh." said Luz cutely.

"Are they always this funny?" giggled Maxwell.

"They've grown to get along that way. It's normal." answered Eda. "Your not jealous, Maxie?"

"I am not." said Maxwell trying to laugh it off.

Eda reached out to wrap her arm around Maxwell and held him closely to her side, causing him to go silent. King would randomly make Maxwell laugh a bit more and Luz would join in which got him to laugh and smile. From a distance, someone was following them and it looked the lady with blue hair.

"Eda, the owl lady, you can't protect him forever. His power is mine and he'll make a tasty morsel in my web." said the blue haired lady.

The blue haired lady showed she had eight eyes on her face now and a very evil idea was forming in her head.


	15. Chapter 15

Hours have gone by and it was four hours after the afternoon started. Maxwell was feeling a bit better after King and Luz had managed to make him laugh. They were making their way back towards the owl house.

"Maxie, did anyone teach you about stranger danger?" asked Luz curiously.

"I did, but it wasn't from my dad." answered Maxwell.

They all looked a bit surprised to hear him say this. They expected someone he was related to would teach him that.

"Who taught you?" asked Eda.

Maxwell didn't really look Eda in the eye or face as he was still a bit nervous around her.

"An old man taught me." answered Maxwell. "He was an old man who was married and had children, even grandchildren but he was retired from what he told me was his job as a teacher in military school."

"That was nice of him." said Luz kindly.

Maxwell nodded and agreed. Just as he was walking with them, a scent in the air reached his nostrils and it smelled good. It smelled sweet.

"Anyone smell that?" said King sniffing the air.

"Someone must be cooking something. It's usually something like that." Eda guessed.

"Smells like something very sweet like strawberry pie from a bakery." said Maxwell dreamily with a giggle.

Maxwell looked as though the sweet smell was about to drive him crazy as he let out a little crazy, hysterical laugh. Eda could sense this was probably not good as she remembers that shiny objects get her going nuts but this was a different case.

"Snap out of it, Maxie." Eda commanded.

"Yes ma'am!" said Maxwell with a hiccup as he snapped back to reality. "Sorry Miss Eda."

Eda reached out and patted Maxwell's head as she grinned.

"That's my boy. I love it when he listens." said Eda giggling.

Maxwell seem to have the craving ignored like it never happened when ever Eda told him to snap out of it or anything about Eda and what she tells him seems to get him to listen to her or even get his mind off something like a craving for what he smelled. Eda seemed to notice but she was thinking that he probably wouldn't disobey her out of respect.

"It's alright, Maxie." said Eda with a word of comfort. "Sometimes we lose control when it comes to something we crave, but that's alright, it's nothing to ashamed of. I once got obsessed with the card game Hexes Hold'em but I managed to kick the habit."

Maxwell did seem to cheer up a bit from hearing her tell him that. As they walked off, the sweet scent got stronger and Maxwell smelled it. He tried to ignore it.

_"Someone's hungry."_ came a female's voice.

Maxwell heard the voice speaking to him in his mind but he could hear it from a distance. He was hearing a female's voice in a whisper like it was whispering in his ear. Maxwell sensed this wasn't good.

"Corre tu casa." said Maxwell as he took off running.

As he took off, he ran faster than ever which left them surprised but giggling.

"He was racing us home." said Luz giggling.

"Challenge accepted." said Eda with a grin.

Eda had her staff laying forwards and it floated as she got on there, pulling King and Luz on there behind her. She slapped the side of the staff and they flew in the air towards the owl house as she raced her way there. They hung on.

"I'm gonna beat you there, Maxie waxie." laughed Eda.

"Looks like Eda likes Maxie." teased King.

"You do know I can do a loop da loop if you tease me." warned Eda.

King went silent as Eda warned him and she was laughing excitedly as she raced towards the owl house. She seemed to feel a thrill with seeing Maxwell showing confidence or even when he shows a braver side.

"That boy is such a tease." laughed Eda.

They saw the owl house and she swooped down and managed to make it to the building. She stopped the staff and they got off it. Luz and King managed to stand up.

"Yeah! I win, baby!" cheered Eda.

"What a flight, lets hope my stomach catches up with me." said King shaking his body in case anything got on him.

"That was fun, a little wild, but what a rush." said Luz.

They looked around to see where Maxwell was and he wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Come on out, Maxie. Someone's going to hug you." called Eda.

They didn't see or hear him as there was no response. They didn't know what to expect till Luz saw what looked like a piece of paper on the wall of the home with a strong and sticky webbing keeping it on there.

"Eda, what is that?" Luz pointed out.

They saw the piece of paper and Eda was the first to take it off there. She saw that it had a message written on there and she saw this wasn't good. She read it out loud.

_I have something you want, Eda. If you want to see him alive in once piece and not pieces. You will come to me and give me what I want as a fair trade. I left a magical energy trail to have you lead the way, it'll disappear in twenty-four hours. Don't keep me waiting or your precious baby human is my dinner tonight._

_Bellatrix_

They looked up and were shocked. Eda was looking angry as she crumpled up the note.

"Whose Bellatrix?" asked Luz looking concerned.

"Bellatrix is this lady I knew from a while back. She blames me for supposedly stealing her man when I dated a guy we knew but long story short, this guy was not good for me or her. But she was a rival of mine, Bellatrix is also one of the competitors that I have from one of my small time businesses." explained Eda. "She's evil and dangerous, so Maxie in danger."

With an unpleasant jolt to their hearts, they knew this wasn't good. King sniffed the air.

"I can smell Maxie's scent from here." said King.

As King as walking around and sniffing the air, Eda knew that King could sniff him out.

"King, can you sniff him out?" asked Luz hopefully.

"Yes, that way." King pointed out.

As they got back on the staff, they flew towards the scent as King was sniffing out the air for Maxwell's scent.

"We're coming buddy!" King shouted.

Somewhere in what looked like the forest area where there was a Stonehenge like place in the center. Maxwell looked like he was strapped and secured to a rock like wall while he was slowly waking up as he saw he had strong rock like straps that kept his hands, arms, legs and feet strapped down.

"Ow, who bopped me on the head?" said Maxwell annoyed.

"Take a look and find out, tasty." came a lady's voice.

He looked up and saw the blue haired woman, his reaction was fearful as he tried to move but couldn't.

"Forget it, little human. Your body is strapped down tight." said Bellatrix.

She had her eight eyes showing on her face and what looked like fangs from her mouth. Maxwell's heart was racing from fear.

"What do you want from me?" said Maxwell afraid to ask.

"Take a gaze in my mind and find out." suggested Bellatrix.

He looked right at her and delved right into her mind and he saw flashes of memories about her and Eda and their rivalry.

"Bellatrix, you have a rivalry with Eda ever since she dated a man shortly after you tried to go for him, you and her were enemies ever since. Your one of her competitors that she warned me about." said Maxwell.

Bellatrix laughed and smiled as if she expected this.

"And that scent of strawberry pie is so easy to get you. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." laughed Bellatrix.

She was coming closer to him and this was causing Maxwell to struggle but feeling fear take over his mind.

"Don't come any closer. I mean it. Eda will come for me." Maxwell warned.

"That's the idea, lover boy." teased Bellatrix.

She got in front of him and Maxwell saw she was going in for what he thought was a kiss and looked away with his eyes closed. She stopped right in front of his face.

"What are you gonna do?" quivered Maxwell.

"I want you...to suffer." she told him.

She backed up and he opened his eyes as he saw her transforming from her form to looking like her body grew black fur all over her body, her legs formed to look like they formed eight coming from her sides, her lower body formed to look more spider like while her top body looked more human but covered with black fur. Maxwell was now shocked to see this.

"I beg of you, don't do this." begged Maxwell.

"Begging won't help." she told him in a demonic voice.

She used her human hands from her upper body and snapped her fingers, a blue and magic energy wave formed in her hands, looking like static electricity. She pushed her hands forwards and an electric wave blasted towards Maxwell and once it hit him, he was feeling intense pain from the static electricity shocking him. He screamed.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!" screamed Maxwell.

"This is for Eda stealing my man and for stealing my customers for years." Bellatrix laughed evilly.

"Stop it! What does this have to do with me?" shouted Maxwell.

She made the shocks stop and Maxwell panted from exhaustion as he looked towards her in fear.

"It'll get Eda's attention alright, and when I extract the power from you, I'll become strong enough to defeat her." Bellatrix told him.

Maxwell shed a tear as he looked desperate for this to end.

"No! Don't do it. Eda, Luz, King and Hooty are all I've got. Please!" Maxwell begged desperately.

"Human's in pain and suffering make me hungrier." she teased.

She formed the blue energy again and blasted it towards him again. Maxwell screamed in pain from being electrified and the strength of the pain doubled.

"Eda, help me! Anyone!" screamed Maxwell. "I'll do anything!"

"Anything?" Bellatrix said excitedly.

Maxwell formed tears from the pain as he felt like he was about to meet his death from this torture. Bellatrix was enjoying herself as she tried to make the electricity stronger which hurt poor Maxwell more.

"Ahhhhhhh. Mommy, mommy!" cried Maxwell.

She stopped as the blue energy disappeared and the electric shocks stopped, leaving Maxwell panting, feeling pain all over his body, some small holes formed in his shirt. Maxwell was emotionally distressed, begging for this to stop to the point he called for mother.

"Baby want mommy." teased Bellatrix. "Momma's boy."

"Let him go, Bellatrix!" came Eda's voice.

Bellatrix smiled and turned to see Eda, King and Luz flying in as they landed and got on their feet. They saw Maxwell in his emotional distressed state. Eda was looking really angry.

"What did you do to him, Bellatrix!" snapped Eda.

"I knew kidnapping this cry baby would have you coming to me." Bellatrix answered. "Torturing him by having him electrified and he turns into a bawling little baby. What a scaredy cat."

Bellatrix laughed evilly as she used her blue energy to blast at Maxwell which the electricity shocked him and it made him scream in agony while crying tears of pain. This was shocking them as Eda felt a fit of rage kicking into her.

"Bella, stop it! This is between you and me. Release him now!" shouted Eda.

"Revenge is sweet." laughed Bellatrix.

"Eda, make her stop! It hurts!" Maxwell shouted in agony as he cried. "Mommy!"

Eda was enraged and she formed a firey ball of energy in her hand and blasted it like a cannon towards Bellatrix as it hit her on her head, causing her to jump and groan from pain. She had some of her hair coming off like it was a hairpiece. She growled in anger. The electricity she used to torture poor Maxwell stopped.

"My hair!" Bellatrix shouted. "You burned a bald spot."

"You were due for a trim anyway." Eda joked.

Bellatrix growled and looked ready to charge at her.

"Luz, you and King find somewhere to take cover. I'm gonna squash a spider." Eda advised.

Luz and King obeyed as they ran towards Maxwell and took cover. Eda and Bellatrix charged at each other and the spider demon tried to use her spider like legs to hit and lash at Eda but she dodged them as she was moving around as fast as Maxwell could run at super sonic speed.

"Your fight is with me, not Maxie!" Eda called out.

"Revenge will be so sweet. I knew that torturing him would lead you to me, now I can get rid of you once and for all." snapped Bellatrix.

She tried to spit at Eda but she deflected the spits from her with a gold force field, but the spit would make smoke appear as the spit was acidic.

"Ready to give up, Bella?" spat Eda.

"I wonder how sweet that country bumpkin taste. He's as sweet as he is delicious." taunted Bellatrix.

Eda had pushed her forwards and knocked her a few feet away. Hearing this made Maxwell enraged. That word again, it was like a trigger word. He looked up with an expression of anger.

"What did you call me, you bitch!" shouted an angry Maxwell.

The sound of him shouting caught all of their attention and his eyes turned gold, a powerful gold energy formed all around him as he shouted a powerful battle cry as broke free from his stone like binds. He landed on his feet, giving Bellatrix an enraged look. Eda smiled in excitement.

"Oh shit." Bellatrix groaned.

"Sock it to her, Maxie!" cheered Eda.

Maxwell charged at Bellatrix and she was deflecting every punch and kick he would throw at her but she was having a hard time keeping up with his speed. Eda looked thrilled, Luz and King were surprised to see how Maxwell can fight back.

"What the fuck is this boy's problem." Bellatrix said annoyed.

"Your his problem!" snapped Eda, Luz and King.

"Lets see, you kidnapped him to get to me, you tortured him till he cried and all to get to me. Boy are you in for it now." taunted Eda.

Maxwell managed to grab hold of Bellatrix's hair and swung her around which caused them to follow the movements with their heads.

"Not my hair! Let go, you dumb monkey!" shouted Bellatrix.

"Gladly!" snapped Maxwell.

He finally let go but when Bellatrix was sent flying, she used her legs to land on the wall of the stones and jumped towards him, blowing huge lipped smooches at him.

"Kiss me, big boy! I'm gonna have his kids!" Bellatrix shouted in defiance.

Maxwell shook his head as his fear returned as the gold energy disappeared and his eyes turned back to normal. Eda ran to Maxwell's side and got in front of him.

"Kiss my booty." Eda shouted.

Eda spun her staff around and gold fire formed as it spun like a tornado and blasted at Bellatrix, making her expression change and the fire surrounded her as it obliterated the spider demon into dust. Maxwell saw this was over and he was feeling so tired. Luz and King came over to Maxwell and Eda turned to see Maxwell. He was shaking all over.

"Maxie." said Luz.

"I'm afraid of spiders." Maxwell let out a breath.

He was about to faint but Luz caught him and held him in her arms as she hugged him, slowly rocked him back and forth in an attempt to comfort him. He hugged her back.

"It's alright, Maxie. Eda got her." said Luz. "Did she hurt you?"

"She grabbed me when I was half way towards the owl house and knocked me out. Than she tortured me by having me electrified." Maxwell confessed. "Please don't be mad."

Eda came over to Maxwell and Luz released her arms from him as Eda placed her palm underneath Maxwell's chin. He closed his eyes for a minute, afraid of suffering Eda's wrath but when he slowly opened one of his eyes, he saw a sympathetic look on Eda's face and opened his other eye.

"Maxie, your not to blame for this. Bellatrix is known for being a shape shifter and she held a grudge against me for reasons that were delusional, she blamed me for supposedly stealing a man she liked that I once dated but he told me wasn't into her, and I found out he wasn't my type, so she blamed me. She used you to get to me and I'm sorry this happened to you." explained Eda.

Maxwell felt relieved that she wasn't mad at him but he shed a tear. Eda sensed that he was hurting inside. Eda placed an arm around him and so did Luz, even King hugged him as they were hugging him in a group. This was creating a sense of comfort for him.

"Guys, does crying make me a cry baby?" asked Maxwell.

"No! Everyone cries and everyone hurts at times. What Bellatrix told you isn't true, your not a cry baby. Even big people feel pain." Luz reassured him.

Maxwell felt better from hearing this. As they saw he was tired, they lead the way and made sure to keep Maxwell with them as they all headed for the owl house. As they walked, they would help Maxwell keep on his feet.

"Eda, how did you find me?" asked Maxwell curiously.

"Bella left a note about her telling us she had you." answered Eda.

"And I sniffed out your scent and boy was it sweet." King chimed in.

Maxwell let out a cough from surprise while Luz kissed King on his cheeks.

"Thanks for saving me back there, you guys. I'm grateful." Maxwell said kindly.

"Anyone who tries to hurt you, we'll always come running." said Luz kindly.

Hearing this had Maxwell feeling a sense of love or the feeling of being loved. Luz pulled him in for a one armed hug which put a smile on his face. As they made it to the owl house, something inside Maxwell was welling up in him. He felt his heart beating faster but for who? He didn't know but he knew it was probably for those who are looking after him.


	16. Chapter 16

Four days have gone by and during those days, Eda got a full stock on the elixir to last a while, both Eda, King and Luz were selling human trinkets at the market place and made plenty of money doing so. They took care of what they had to do and they made it home.

"I wonder how King and Maxie are doing?" said Luz.

"Lets hope they didn't have a wild party and had a lot of dancing girls." joked Eda as she laughed. "I'm kidding."

They walked up to the door and Hooty let them inside which once inside, they found Maxwell laying on his back to the floor with King on top of him. King was tickling him while Maxwell laughed.

"I see that smile on your face. Admit it, you got a mystery woman." teased King playfully.

"I swear, there is no mystery lady." laughed Maxwell.

Luz giggled and ran right over to King and she pulled him off Maxwell and hugged King. Maxwell panted and got up on his feet as he saw they bags and more that needed to be put away.

"So what's going on here?" asked Luz.

"I taught him a bit about some demons for a bit and when ever I brought up something about girls and he's all blushing like crazy and I started tickling him because I knew there's a girl he likes." explained King giggling.

"Maybe someone should give us a hand?" suggested Eda.

"You got it!" Maxwell said as he jumped at the chance.

"There's going to be a bit of heavy lifting." warned Luz.

"Not a problem." said Maxwell not bothered by the factor.

They figured that King and Maxwell were just them playing around earlier and they were surprised that Maxwell volunteered to carry the bags and more. Eda, King and Luz offered to assist but Maxwell insisted on doing this himself. This was a surprise to them but Eda made sure he got everything put in the right places which he did. They all were in the living room and relax. Maxwell sat down nearby in the middle of the room. They didn't even have to lift a finger while Maxwell took care of it.

"Maxie is proving to be really strong in the body. He didn't seem tired when he put everything away. Someone's a gentlemen." Eda complimented.

Maxwell blushed deeply as he let out a nervous laugh.

"I can't believe he actually volunteered to do that for us. Makes me wonder how is he so strong?" said Luz.

"The school I went to had a really rigorous exercise program." answered Maxwell.

"Looks like it's paying off." giggled Eda.

"It was the school's idea. So it wasn't my idea, just like how it wasn't your idea when you all went through the body swap." explained Maxwell.

They all went silent and Maxwell covered his mouth as if he said a swear word. Eda started to look suspicious to how he knew about that event but she suspected two reasons.

"King, did you tell him?" asked Eda crossing her arms.

"It wasn't King's fault. He told me about some of the weirdest things about the boiling isles and I asked him what was weirdest for him, he didn't want to tell me but curiosity got the better of me. So he told me afterwards, and the memories of each individual experience you all had from what your minds show, and it was, a little." Maxwell explained and stopped.

"It was a little what?" Eda asked turning towards him.

Maxwell looked away and knew this was probably something he shouldn't have brought up like blurting out a secret to a group of kids. Eda saw that he was really trying not to say anything that would have her feeling cross with her.

"Permission to speak freely, ma'am?" asked Maxwell nervously.

"Nothing to worry about, I promise I won't yell." Eda said reassuring him.

Maxwell let out a sigh and knew this was going to be like biting the bullet.

"From what the memories in your heads shown me from that experience. Forgive me but I think it was all kind of a mean spirited situation. I'm sorry but it was all kind of mean." Maxwell admitted.

They were all silent for a minute, looking at each other and back at him as if they expected him to say something worse.

"I know people have their own problems, despite that you all learned how the other has it tough. I think it was mean how those people treated you guys, even when you tried getting out of the situations you got stuck in. Those people at the authorities treating Luz and Owlbert that way while she was in Eda's body, the way them two older women treated Eda while she was in King's body, the way Boscha and her friends were towards King while he was in Luz body. It was all kind of mean. Those teenagers were downright mean and manipulative and could've gotten King in Luz's body hurt along with how them older women towards him. I understand that you all were back in each others bodies and Eda had all those who were mad at you guys switch bodies with others so you guys got away clean. Which seeing them bad people having a body swap was kind of funny, but all of this while making a bet on who cleans the house, Hooty, and how that resulted in the end when it could've been resolved in a way where no one got into trouble. I'm sorry guys, I feel it was all kind of mean spirited when all could've been avoided by talking about it and helping each other through the situation the other was going through before the swap." Maxwell explained as he expressed how he felt about it.

Maxwell looked up at them and he had a sympathetic look on his face. Eda, King and Luz looked at one another and had sympathetic looks on their faces towards each other as if understanding what Maxwell meant and knew that he was trying not to hurt their feelings. They looked right at him.

"Forgive me, I just felt it was enough to break my heart." Maxwell told them. "It was heart breaking to me that you guys were fighting as well."

"Maxie, calm down." Eda advised. "Even though that situation happened the way it did, and we did something about all who were cross with us at the time and we got away after I had them all do a body swap. Me, Luz, Hooty and King all apologized and reconciled with each other afterwards."

Maxwell felt oddly relieved to hear this as he knew that Eda was a tough lady but he sees that this could be proof she's not made of stone.

"Maxie, we promise never to do a body swap ever again. And we didn't mean to have you feel bothered by that situation." said King kindly. "Besides, we at least helped Luz clean the house and Hooty when we saw it got a bit rough."

Maxwell felt better to hear this and let out a sigh of relief.

"What was it like? Being in each other's bodies?" asked Maxwell.

"I'm never being in a male's body ever again." Eda said briefly shaking.

"Being in a girl's body is something I never want to do again." said King shuddering.

"It was a little scary being in Eda's situation but I was so glad that Eda came to help us all out when I escaped and reunited with them. But never again is a body swap happening." said Luz. "So how did it look to you when you saw us in each others bodies from our minds?"

Maxwell would imagine King being more like Eda and the body mannerisms, King being in Luz's body and going crazy doing so many thrill seeking antics and Luz in Eda's body going through tough situations that could scar children. Even though they swapped back and got revenge of the people they ran from, he blushed and shook.

"I'm not saying anything." Maxwell told them as he shuddered. "Eda in King's body was a bit much for me."

King giggled and got on his feet as he got on the floor. He was laughing at the sound of what Maxwell said. King started to wink and grin at him while walking like a sexy woman as he walked towards Maxwell, giggling. He was mimicking Eda.

"Oh Maxie, your so nervous with me in King's body, come to momma and smooch me, big boy." teased King.

Maxwell blushed deeper, tried not to laugh but he couldn't resist as he felt his heart pumping and laughed a bit.

"King, stop it! Not in front of the girls." giggled Maxwell.

King leaped forward and landed on Maxwell's chest and had him land on his back to the floor. He was making kissy sounds and laughing. Even Luz was laughing and Eda was trying not to laugh.

"King, quit it." laughed Maxwell.

"Smoochie smoochie." teased King.

"Okay, you little demon, enough teasing the kid." Eda advised as she fought the urge to laugh.

King decided to stop to show Maxwell some mercy but once he got off Maxwell, that's when Maxwell gasped for a breath and his eyes glowed white. They saw this and immediately felt worried. Maxwell started to see an image in his head. He saw what looked a hooded figure but it looked as though it was looking for someone or something.

_"Human in danger!"_ shouted the hooded figure.

Maxwell was seeing the vision fade and he could see Eda holding him up in her arms with King and Luz looking worried. His was were normal again.

"Maxie, what happened? What did you see? Say something." said Eda looking alarmed.

"It said human in danger." answered Maxwell.

"Which human?" Eda asked.

"I don't know. It wore a hood and I didn't see the face, it didn't say." Maxwell told her.

Eda knew this meant a heads up or a warning but she didn't know who was in danger. Luz or Maxwell?


	17. Chapter 17

Three days went by and both Eda, Luz, King and Maxwell were walking around the town of Bonesborough while Eda had her hood up just in case. Maxwell looked reluctant to even be out there while Luz was also keeping an eye out for anything dangerous like the rest of them.

"Are you guys sure about being out here? My last vision was wrong." said Maxwell worried.

"Trust me when I say this, Maxie. I know enough about mind reading to know what it is but as for psychic powers, I only know enough about it to know what it's suppose to do but even though I don't know how it works, still, sometimes the visions are right or wrong. It happens." Eda reassured him. "If anyone hurts you, King or Luz, they answer to me."

Luz felt good to hear that but Maxwell blushed as if he was still adjusting to trying to feel comfortable around Eda.

"Do you remember where you saw the hooded figure?" asked Luz curiously.

"In some random parts of the town, there was a place known as the Kitty Café, and the rest was random." answered Maxwell.

"Oh no." said Eda disapprovingly.

"Not a good place to be, right?" asked Maxwell.

"Definitely, those two elderly ladies there are tough as nails." Eda informed. "I can't promise they'll be nice."

Maxwell remembered reading their minds but didn't know too much about those two older women except what they look like and that they knew how to defend themselves if they have to. They reluctantly headed towards the Kitty Café, but they kept their guard up as they knew Maxwell hasn't experienced the insanity that went on around there. Eda had Luz hoodie over her head just in case.

"Meow meow." Luz playfully said.

Maxwell saw this and he touched the cat ears of Luz's hoodie as if doing that out of curiosity. Luz giggled and gave him a hug.

"Maxie likes Luz." joked King.

Maxwell blushed and ignored the joke as they found the location of the Kitty Café. Eda, Luz and King went silent as they didn't see the two older women that they told him about.

"I don't see them." said Eda.

It wasn't long till the two older humanoid demon women they spoke of showed up as they headed towards the building and Maxwell was about to walk over to them but Eda, King and Luz stopped him.

"I wouldn't do that." warned Eda.

"Wouldn't it be better to talk to them outside the building?" suggested Maxwell.

"Not unless your in a suit of armor." King argued.

"Well, I'm open to listening to any ideas you got in mind. My idea was talk to them kindly about it." Maxwell suggested.

Eda, Luz and King sadly shook their heads, leaving Maxwell confused.

"Maxie, we know you mean well but those two women are not afraid of hurting people. They're not like old ladies that are too frail to fight back. They're about as feisty as people in their twenties." King explained and warned. "But it's alright, your heart is in the right place."

"I got an idea but it's going to be a bit risky." said Eda.

They wondered what Eda's idea was as she formed a green circle with her fingers and move them towards herself. Her clothing turned into what looked like all black and looked like she was dressed up like a guard and with a metal mask the covered half her face but her nose and mouth were not covered. They were surprised to see this.

"I'll be a guard and you all pretend to be witnesses that are helping me solve a case." explained Eda. "Follow my lead and everything will be alright."

They knew that when Eda's idea is put into work, there's no backing out of it unless she asks them if they want to. She lead them over to the Kitty Café as the two older women who looked like vampires saw them coming over. The two older women were surprised to see who they think is a guard. One of the older women was heavyset and the other was slimmer.

"What seems to be the problem, officer?" asked one of the older women.

"We'll be asking the questions, sisters." Eda said with a firm tone. "State your names."

"Roselle and Dottie, two older women who believe teenagers are monsters. Both have a mean streak towards teens. I see a lot of hatred in you towards them." said Maxwell.

The two older women were stunned to see this coming from Maxwell but they gave him cold looks.

"Has this rotten teen been stalking us? Maybe he's finally getting arrested like all teens should be." said Roselle maliciously.

"One, they're not under arrest, they're witnesses to a crime and they're helping a case I'm on, and two, don't talk like that to these two kids or I'll have this place shut down." threatened Eda. "Also, your minds are not closed books to one of them, so don't get any funny ideas."

Them two older women were surprised. Eda was enjoying a little revenge against them as she was put on the tough warden act.

"These two kids have told me they saw a suspect hanging around here and I know you two saw something suspicious. Have you two ladies seen a tall, dark figure with a hood around here?" Eda asked.

Roselle and Dottie looked at each other with shock and looked back at them.

"We saw someone dressed in black but no hood. He was a theater major." answered Roselle.

"You swear to me? You can get arrested for lying to an officer and lives are at steak. So if your lying, someone getting hurt will be on you." warned Eda.

The two older women knew this was sounding serious as they felt a bit of fear but they didn't show it.

"We swear we're telling the truth." said Roselle and Dottie in unison.

"Alright, so far, this one person isn't who were looking for. You two ladies are cleared." said Eda with a sigh.

The two older women let out a sigh of relief but Eda gave them a serious look.

"But try to be nice to some kids. Teens are not all bad, I know about how you treated this young little girl and her little friend and your lucky I'm not going to arrest you for kidnapping." Eda told them threateningly.

"Yes ma'am. Sorry about that." said the two older women.

"As you were." Eda said.

The two older women nervously saluted Eda and walked inside the building while Eda and the rest of them walked away. Eda snapped her fingers and her outfit or disguise changed back to normal in a white flash of light. Eda grinned and giggled.

"I can't believe that worked." said Luz with a look of surprise.

"I can't believe I got away with doing that to them vampire ladies." giggled Eda.

"They were real vampires?" said Maxwell alarmed.

"Don't worry, you two, they drink something that's a substitute so they don't feed on humans anymore." reassured Eda.

Maxwell felt better knowing this but was surprised he had no idea those two older women were vampires, he was thinking they were demons or witches but vampires was a different story.

"What other places did you see this hooded figure?" asked Eda.

"Human in danger! Human in danger!" came a male's voice.

They stopped and saw the hooded figure they talked about, it was coming over to them by a run. There was a huge shadow that flew towards them and they looked up, seeing it was a huge gryphon the size of a truck.

"Get down!" shouted the hooded male.

The hooded male jumped and attempted to tackle both Luz and Maxwell to the ground but he only got Luz on the ground and the gryphon swooped down, grabbing hold of Maxwell with it's feet, flying off with Maxwell in it's talon like feet. Luz got up as the hooded figure got up to his feet and assisted Luz. Eda was about to question the hooded figure but saw Maxwell being carried off.

"What in the world?" Eda groaned.

"Whoa! Too high, this is very high." called out Maxwell.

They looked up and saw the gryphon carrying off Maxwell. The hooded figure ran towards the direction of that huge bird like creature.

"Hurry! Human in danger! Human in danger!" called the hooded figure.

"Eda, what do we do?" said Luz looking worried.

Eda got her staff to float and she both gotten Luz, King and herself on the staff as she slapped her hand on the staff and they began to fly towards the gryphon that also had Maxwell.

"Hang on tight!" said Eda.

They flew towards Maxwell as the young human male was panicking at being up in the air so high. He struggled to get out of the grip the gryphon had on him.

"Come on, you don't want eat me. Humans taste nasty, all that cholesterol is bad for the heart." said Maxwell in hopes the creature would listen.

It ignored him and Maxwell looked down at the ground, worried that he'll fall to his death from this height, his heart racing at the sight of how high in the air he was in. He was probably over one hundred feet high. He suddenly had an idea pop into his head as he took a deep breath.

"Let me land on something soft." Maxwell said hopefully.

Maxwell suddenly began to let out a scream so loud that it was at sonic levels, causing the gryphon to screech and have difficulty with it's flight pattern. Eda quickly used something to shield both her ears and Luz and King's ears to prevent them from having their flight pattern knocked off course.

"He can scream that loud?" said Luz loudly.

"That's some strong lungs." Eda called out.

Maxwell's loud sonic level screams kept going while the gryphon's grip on him loosened up to the point that it let go. His screams stopped but he was falling from a high height as he saw the ground getting closer. He felt fear flooding his mind. Eda had removed the ear plugs from their ears and saw that Maxwell falling towards a place that Eda was aware was not good and it was the Police Precint that had a been a place Eda avoids.

"Eda!" yelled Maxwell.

"Can't let him fall there. Faster Owlbert!" Eda shouted.

Maxwell was looking as though he was praying not to die this way which Eda flew faster towards him as she quickly drew a white circle with her fingers and blew the circle towards Maxwell with a powerful gust of air from her mouth. Maxwell saw he was not too far away from the ground.

"Eda help!" cried Maxwell.

The white circle made it to him and it formed into a long and strong rope that wrapped around his ankle and one end tied itself on the rooftop while Maxwell got close to the ground but the word pulled him up as it looked like he didn't hit the ground which he was hanging from the rope that kept him three feet off the ground. Maxwell felt relieved.

"Phew, that was close." Maxwell sighed in relief.

Eda would've swooped down to get him but he had seen someone walking towards Maxwell from where he hung and it was Lilith.

"Oh no." said Luz.

"Lilith." Eda and King groaned.

Lilith spotted Maxwell as she walked towards him with an evil smile. Lilith was now in front of Maxwell as she looked as though she had a chance to get back at an enemy. Maxwell looked annoyed at the sight of her.

"Hello human." said Lilith sarcastically.

"Old crow." Maxwell spat.

"I see your swinging around like a monkey to a tree." insulted Lilith.

"I see your still princess of the short tempered and fucking getting uglier with age." Maxwell insulted back.

Lilith groaned with disgust as she got a guard's attention. The guard that came over was tall and possibly muscular from the frame and shape of it's body.

"Officer, cut this human down. I'm placing him under arrest." instructed Lilith.

"As you wish." said the guard.

Maxwell's expression changed once he heard those words as the guard pulled out a pair of huge scissors and cut the rope with no problem, causing Maxwell to fall and be caught by Lilith but she tried to carry him yet she dropped him on his feet like she was lifting ten muscular men.

"Human, do you know your too heavy? What have you been eating?" Lilith said rhetorically.

"It's called having muscles and it's heavier than fat. Looks like Eda's stronger than the weak old crow and Eda wins again because she's strong enough to lift me like a bodybuilder in a gym." Maxwell said maliciously.

What he said caused Lilith to slap him across the face, a sting of pain stinging him. He looked towards her with a smug grin.

"Guard, grab him and carry him. Now!" commanded Lilith.

Before Maxwell could run, the guard grabbed him and carried him over his back like a sack of potatoes. Maxwell's heart pounded as he tried not to panic.

"Where are you taking me? I didn't do it." said Maxwell slightly panicking.

"That's what they all say." said the guard sarcastically.

"What are you gonna do to me?" asked Maxwell shaking with fear.

"You'd be lucky if I don't spank you for being stubbornly disobedient. What you did, your in big trouble. No mercy." said Lilith giggling evilly.

This struck fear into Maxwell's heart as a tear shed from his eye, gulping loudly as he had no idea what was coming for him.

"Have mercy." said Maxwell with a whimper.

_**Somewhere nearby the police station**_

Somewhere in a hidden location outside the police precint. Eda, Luz and King were thinking of what to do as they worried for Maxwell's safety.

"Eda, this isn't good." said Luz worried.

"No joke. My sister took him in there and if they take in a child, no offense but children are sensitive when in those kinds of situations. They don't go easy on you when your a kid. Who knows what they'll do to him, even if you were in there, no offense but they might actually traumatize you in there just to get information out of you." Eda warned.

"They could be taking him to the Conformatorium. Our buddy is too sensitive for that." King said with a tinge of panic.

Luz was wide eyed about the idea and almost began to panic herself.

"Calm down you two, I got an idea but it's going to be risky." said Eda bringing them in a huddle.

Eda was whispering in their ears what she had in mind and from the sounds of it, a look of shock was on King and Luz's faces.

_**Inside Police**__**Station**_

Somewhere in the police station. Maxwell was in the interrogation room while a guard was watching him in there, his iron mask covering his face which Maxwell couldn't see his expression. He had cuffs on him.

"Hey guard, any chance I can make a phone call?" said Maxwell shaking.

"Silence! I don't fraternize with suspects." the guard said sharply.

Maxwell was trying to read his mind but the mask or a helmet prevented him from diving into the guard's mind. Lilith walked into the room with what looked like a bag as she placed it near the table and she stood in front of Maxwell. His fear turned to defiance.

"Do you know why your here, human?" said Lilith.

"Because you possibly framed me and took me away against my will? You should be the one in cuffs and a bag over your head. The men must have a hard time not throwing up when they look at you." said Maxwell smugly.

Lilith showed a look of anger and signaled the guard to leave as it left the room. Lilith pulled out a key to take the cuffs off him.

"Human, you remember what happened at the witch's duel?" asked Lilith.

"How can I forget. Me and Eda are still laughing about it. Just like when she told me you pissed yourself a little from excitement when you were chosen to join the emperor's coven. That was funny as hell." taunted Maxwell.

Hearing this left Lilith blushing and letting out a nervous laugh at first but a look of anger shown on her face as she harshly reached out to grab him by the face with a lightly painful grip.

"Listen to me, you little brat! Your sassy, potty mouth is only going to make it worse. You are going to do as I say like a good boy or I'll!" threatened Lilith.

"Your hurting me." groaned Maxwell.

"Give me a reason not to." Lilith spat. "I know you got here somehow so your going to tell me or do I have to rough you up."

Maxwell let out a sigh and an expression of depression on his face appeared.

"Lilith, you...you win." Maxwell sighed.

Lilith let go of him and pinch his cheek as if to tease and taunt him.

"Good little boy. Maybe if your a good boy and you behave yourself and I might show a little mercy." teased Lilith.

"You have to come closer to hear me." advised Maxwell.

Lilith leaned her face closer to him but stopped.

"Closer." instructed Maxwell.

"This must be really shocking to have me do this." Lilith said feeling tempted.

She leaned in closer and her face was close to his face at eye level.

"Go on, now." Lilith said strictly.

Maxwell smiled and let out a loud and huge burp in Lilith's face, it was long, loud and huge. She drew her face away from him and waved her hand in front of her nose as she looked disgusted.

"Your disgusting!" groaned Lilith.

"I never said I would burp in your face, bitch." laughed Maxwell. "I'm not telling you a fucking thing."

A look of rage spread across Lilith's face as she formed a fist and was about to punch him, leaving Maxwell to flinch and close his eyes tight. He waited for the pain of the impact but it didn't come to him. He slowly opened his eyes and as he saw her place the bag on the table.

"Maybe this will loosen your lips." said Lilith reaching inside the bag.

Maxwell was curious to what she was about to pull out but he looked away as if not wanting to bear the horrifying sight of what her method of torture was going to be. A sweet smell hit his nose.

"Maybe you'd like to tell me what I need to know if you had a strawberry pie in your belly?" said Lilith.

He opened his eyes and looked to see that Lilith had a large pie pan that had a fresh strawberry pie with steam forming from it. His stared at it as if tempted to eat.

"They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Maybe you'll talk if you had a sweet, tangy, dribbling piece of strawberry pie in your belly." Lilith said as if trying to trick him.

She tauntingly waved it at his face with a smug expression while Maxwell tried to pull his face away from it but with all his might, he looked away in a huff.

"You think you can tempt me into betraying someone close to me, than that crow's egg in your head is the same as your heart, rotten." said Maxwell sharply. "It's probably poisoned."

Lilith pulled out a knife to cut a piece of the pie and placed it in her mouth to eat it. Chewing it up and swallowing it as if to prove something to Maxwell that it wasn't poisoned.

"You don't trust me, do you?" taunted Lilith.

"Can't trust you as far as I can throw a football on game day." Maxwell replied.

"If the pie was poisoned, I wouldn't be eating a bit of it." said Lilith proving him wrong.

"And if you were a circus clown, you would've seen this coming." said Maxwell giggling.

He grabbed hold of the pie and mashed it against Lilith's face, leaving a mess on her face, and a little bit of the pie crust spilled on the table and floor of the room, leaving him to laugh. Lilith wiped the mess off her face as the pie tray fell to the floor with a clang. She looked irate.

"I'm giving you one last chance to cooperate." growled Lilith.

Lilith was steaming mad but tried to hold back as she went to stand next to Maxwell, she placed her hand on Maxwell's back as if to show a sign of trust.

"Why don't you come with me? Edalyn obviously can't help you control this power you possess, if you come with me, I'll let you live, I won't harm a hair on your head. I can help you control this power better than my sister, I won't let anyone hurt you the whole time. You'd be pampered and spoiled rotten. You can even have any hot girl you desire." said Lilith tried to tempt him.

Maxwell knew the offer was tempting but the only thing that came to mind when he heard the offer being given. Eda's face came to mind, so did King and Luz. He felt that this offer wouldn't make him happy at all.

"It's all yours, you just have to come with me." said Lilith calmly.

Lilith reached her other hand to place on Maxwell's crotch, making a pass at him. Maxwell shook and grabbed hold of Lilith's hand and with an impressive amount of strength, he mashed her hand to the point she was groaning in pain. Lilith couldn't even pull her hand out of his powerful grip.

"My heart belongs to someone else." said Maxwell finally. "And your not that someone, Limby."

Maxwell pushed her away and let go of her hand, she was pushed three feet away from him in the room. Lilith suddenly lost her temper and walked towards him, she grabbed Maxwell by the front of his shirt and pulled him up.

"You stubborn little monkey! What is it with you? What does my sister have that I don't that makes you wish you stay with her?" Lilith growled.

"A heart and soul, something you don't have." answered Maxwell.

In defiance, Maxwell sucked up a large amount of saliva and hocked up a mouthful of spit across Lilith's face which was on her left cheek. In a fit of rage, Lilith wiped her cheek clean with the back of her hand.

"Sorry, had something stuck in my throat." joked Maxwell.

"That's it! I tried to be nice but now I'm going to give you something to cry about! Guards!" shouted Lilith.

Four guards walked in and they responded to Lilith's call. Maxwell was curious to what was next.

"Guards, hold him down! Apparently, brutal methods are going to be needed." Lilith commanded.

The guards ran towards him and Maxwell's expression and feeling of defiance had changed to alarm as he was going to run or try to use a bit of magic to defend himself but was grabbed by one of the guards before he could do anything.

"Let go of me!" cried Maxwell.

"Hold him down!" instructed Lilith.

Maxwell squirmed but the four guards held him down by pinning him to the wall on his back while each one of them held onto his limbs. One of them holding onto his right leg, left leg, right arm and left arm. He couldn't move as he struggled.

"Let me go, now!" shouted Maxwell.

Lilith reached in the bag and pulled out a dagger as she walked over to him with it. Maxwell was overcome with fear.

"Wait! Don't do it. I didn't do nothing." panicked Maxwell.

"Said every criminal who walked in here." spat Lilith.

She walked over towards Maxwell, raising the dagger as Maxwell's mind went blank and nothing but fear and panic flooded his mind.

"Lilith, please don't do it! I'm too young! I'll do anything!" pleaded Maxwell.

"You had your chance." said Lilith sharply.

She raised the dagger and Maxwell began to watch her take action as she attempted to slash him but he closed his eyes out of fear while Lilith smiled evilly.

"Does the little human baby have any last words before he receives his punishment." said Lilith eagerly.

"Why do this to a child? I'm just a child! I'm just a child!" said Maxwell his voice getting shaky.

"Say good bye." said Lilith maliciously.

She raised the dagger and Maxwell screamed as a tear leaked out of his eyes. Lilith was about to stab him till there was a loud knock at the door of the room. She stopped as the blade of the dagger was an inch away from Maxwell's stomach.

"What now!" said Lilith sharply.

The door opened and a large male guard that was larger than any of the guards in the room and he fell to the floor. They saw what looked like blue smoke filling the room and the guards started to lose their grip on Maxwell as they were being knocked out by the smoke.

"Sleepers smoke mist potion brew!" said Lilith alarmed.

Lilith went towards the bag and frantically looked in there for a mask but to her bad luck, there wasn't one. She turned to Maxwell who was now standing on his own feet and was free from the guard's grip. She walked towards him.

"My sister can't...protect you...forever. You're power...will be..." Lilith was cut off.

Lilith succumb to the affects of the smoke that knocked her out and had her asleep. Maxwell was seeing where the exit was as he made his way there but the mist filled the room and he was starting to feel the affects of it making him sleepy.

"Eda, Luz, King! I'm in here!" called Maxwell.

He barely made it out the door of the interrogation room as he fell to the floor, starting to fall asleep when he saw three masked figures coming for him which his vision was so blurry that they looked like shadows with gas masks.

"Eda...help...me." Maxwell said slowly loosing consciousness.

The last thing he saw was the three masked figures taking him with them and all who were at the police station were knocked out and he fell asleep.


	18. Chapter 18

Maxwell was slowly waking up but his vision was dark as he could barely make out what looked like one of the masked shadow like figures he saw drag him out of the police precint that Lilith held him captive in. He could barely make out that it was carrying him.

"A dónde me llevas?" said Maxwell slowly.

He heard the masked figure speaking but his sense of hearing wasn't able to hear what it was as he was going back and forth between coming to or groggy. He tried to stay awake but felt like the sleepiness was fighting back.

"Please...don't." Maxwell said slowly.

His vision was slowly coming back and getting clearer, his sense of hearing was slowly returning and getting clearer as well.

"Wake...up." came the voice of the masked figure.

He could barely catch what this masked person was telling him since his hearing was slowly getting clearer but still was droned out by his grogginess.

"Buddy...wakie wakie." came another voice.

Maxwell's vision got clearer and he made out a figure that looked familiar.

"Eda..." said Maxwell a bit louder.

As his vision was now clearer, he had seen the figure and he saw Lilith's evil and enraged face. He was wide eyed with shock and fear.

"Wake up!" came Lilith's voice loudly.

Maxwell jerks awake and wakes up to be in the arms of the masked figure, wide awake and he sees the three masked people, one being tall, one short and the other slightly shorter than him. All dressed in black. His fear returned as he tried to make a break for it but the masked figure slightly shorter than him held him closely in it's arms, he shook all over as he saw the figure raise a finger around where it's lips should be, signaling him to silent. It was reaching for it's mask to take it off.

"Misericordia, te lo ruego!" begged Maxwell.

The masked figure holding him took it's mask off and it revealed to be Luz. She grinned and placed a hand on his cheek.

"It's alright, Maxie. No one will hurt you." Luz told him kindly.

Maxwell felt relieved and hugged Luz, shedding a few tears as he felt really relieved to see her. The small masked figure and the taller figure removed their masks and it revealed to be Eda and King.

"Oh thank the lord for you guys." said Maxwell his voice shaky. "I was scared for my life."

"Is it normal that teens can be emotional at times?" asked King.

"That would be a yes, furrball." Eda told him with a grin and rolled her eyes.

"Maxie, what happened in there?" asked King.

Maxwell had remembered what happened when he was taken inside the police station and he informed them on what went on from what Lilith and him told each other when Maxwell told them the insults that Lilith and him exchanged, Eda laughed a bit from what insults he said towards Lilith, especially when he burped in Lilith's face. He told him Lilith's attempt to bribe him with strawberry pie and how he pied Lilith in the face like it were joke, Eda tried hard not to laugh so hard about it, but when he told them the other bribe that Lilith offered him which left them silent as if worried but he informed them he denied Lilith's bribe of joining her but felt touched by the fact he would rather stay with Eda, King and Luz. Eda nearly burst out laughing when he told them he hocked a big amount of saliva in Lilith's face. But they grew alarmed for his safety when he told them how Lilith had him held down and she was going to stab him with a dagger when he begged for his life. But told them someone had used some kind of smoke to knock everyone out and he was dragged away by three masked figures that turned out to be them. They were just glad he was alive. Luz hugged Maxwell tightly to her.

"Luz, too tight, can't breathe, spine is breaking." said Maxwell weakly.

Luz loosened her grip and hugged him gentler to her body, causing him to breathe in and out in relief.

"Did Lilith hurt you?" asked Eda.

Maxwell blushed and looked away as he knew he forgot one little detail he left out but he felt uncomfortable with telling them that.

"I can't." said Maxwell shaking.

"What do you mean you can't?" asked Eda starting to lose a bit of patience. "What did Lilith do that has you so afraid to say what it is?"

Maxwell let out sigh and looked up at them.

"She placed her hands on me, again." said Maxwell finally. "She made a pass at me."

They were not liking what they heard. Lilith placing her hands on him where he's uncomfortable was wrong the first time but a second time was just evil. Eda looked angry.

"If I see Lilith again, she's dead!" growled Eda.

"Lilith told me I was guilty of a crime." Maxwell blurted out.

Eda looked at Maxwell as she had that look that every mother had when they found out that someone hurt their kids and left the mother really irate.

"What did she say you were guilty of?" asked Eda with her fist clenching.

"I don't know, she didn't tell me." answered Maxwell shaking in terror. "Please stop looking at me like that."

Eda was about to say something in protest but she saw Maxwell look away with a tear leaking out of his eye. She knew this was probably scaring poor Maxwell as she unclenched her fist but didn't like the fact that Lilith is hurting him.

"Well, when Lilith said you were guilty of a crime, she's got to be lying. She probably said that to scare you." Eda told him.

Maxwell nodded as if agreeing with Eda. Luz placed her hand on Maxwell's chest as if to comfort him which seemed to work but also left him blushing a bit.

"Miss Eda, please forgive me for what I'm about say but I hate Lilith, she's a bitch." Maxwell said sadly.

Maxwell realized he just said a swear word in front of Eda, Luz and King as he covered his mouth with his left hand as if to prevent himself from saying anything. He waited for Eda to say something that would be directed harshly at him but when he looked towards her, he saw a smile.

"I'm not offended, kiddo. I know Lilith is a really mean lady." said Eda in agreement. "But on a side note, watch your language, young man, understand?"

"Y-y-yes ma'am." said Maxwell nervously stuttering.

Maxwell was surprised by her reaction but saw Eda's facial expression change from seriousness to a smile.

"But I'm glad your okay." said Eda calmly.

"How did you guys get me out?" asked Maxwell changing the subject.

"We used the sleepers smoke mist potion bomb. It works like a smoke bomb but acts like a grenade. Once it you toss it and it hits a hard surface, the mist fills up the place, no matter where you are, but it lasts for about thirty minutes before it dissipates, anyone exposed to it will be out cold for an hour or two. We had to wear gas masks to prevent it from knocking us out when we went in to get you out of there." explained Eda.

"I loved it when Eda shouted fire in the hole." giggled Luz.

Eda burst out laughing as she felt proud to hear someone say that and she felt thrilled to say such a cool phrase when doing what she did. Maxwell was understanding what they told him but a little shocked at the same time.

"What about the hooded figure?" asked Maxwell curiously.

"Sorry Maxie, he got away. While we were saving you, we saw him disappear into the crowd." said King apologetically.

Maxwell looked down at the ground, disappointed in himself.

"I'm sorry guys. I must be more trouble than I'm worth. I keep getting into trouble or getting us into trouble, something keeps going wrong as soon as I'm involved, you guys constantly having to save me from someone or something that is out for my blood. You guys must get tired of saving me. I'm probably worse than Eda's curse." said Maxwell disappointed.

Luz placed her hand on Maxwell's cheek and gently pulled his face up to face her. Eda even felt as though that Maxwell shouldn't put himself down.

"Maxie, don't talk like that about yourself." said Luz trying encourage him.

"Maxwell Logan, your not worse than my curse. Don't put yourself down like that." said Eda lending her support.

"They're right. Saving you is no problem, we've saved Luz plenty of times and we'd always come running to her, we'd do the same for you." said King encouraging him.

Maxwell felt like his heart was touched by such words as he shed a tear that leaked down his cheek. He pulled Luz in a hug as he felt her hug him back.

"No one's ever cared about me this way before." said Maxwell sadly.

They went silent from hearing this. They wondered what happened to Maxwell before they met him and wondered if it was something tragic. Luz and King didn't want to bring it up because they felt it was personal to him or they figured he should talk about it when he's ready. Eda on one hand, she may not have looked it but she felt a need to protect Maxwell, even if she didn't always show it. Luz helped Maxwell up to his feet.

"Maxie, need a minute alone?" asked King looking concerned.

"No, I'll be fine." said Maxwell trying to be brave.

Maxwell started to walk off as they followed him. Eda lead the way as they knew that if they had to find the hooded figure, it had to be another time. Eda placed her hand on Maxwell's shoulder as if to show some emotional support which left him blushing deeply.

"Maxie, I'm sorry for what happened to you." said Eda softly.

"It's alright." said Maxwell with a hiccup.

"Just asking out of curiosity but Maxie, do you have any idea what Lilith wants from you?" said Luz concerned.

"I don't know. But when she bribed me to go with her to let her teach me how to control this power, I don't wanna know what she wants from me." said Maxwell with a shiver of disgust. "But I don't think we wanna know."

They all shivered in disgust from how they agreed that what ever the reason for what Lilith wanted with him was probably something that could make them lose their lunch. They tried to change the subject for now.

"When you guys did that body swap. Did you really swap Lilith's body with a Cerberus canine?" asked Maxwell curiously.

Eda smiled and burst out laughing with a snort at the question, leaving Maxwell to wonder if this was a joke.

"I sure did, ha!" laughed Eda. "If she thinks she was top dog when that happened, she was right about one thing. She is a dog."

Maxwell tried hard not to laugh but he couldn't hold back as he let out a cough and laughed at the idea of the funny adult reference that Eda made with the joke.

"Eda got Maxie to laugh." said King in a sing song voice.

"I'm not laughing." said Maxwell trying to choke his laughter.

Maxwell was going to protest but when Eda playfully patted Maxwell on the back, he let out a loud yet sharp groan of pain. King's laughter stopped as Eda looked concerned.

"You okay, Maxie?" asked Eda.

"I'm alright, I'm just tired." Maxwell said with a grunt.

"Sure you don't need us to look at something?" suggested Luz.

Maxwell went silent and blushed as deep as he ever did as he shook his head. They saw that this might be an uncomfortable issue for him.

"No offense but I don't want to talk about this right now. I need to lay down, I don't feel good." Maxwell lied as he looked away. "I know your just looking out for me but I really don't want to say anything else about this."

As they made it back to the owl house, they all had one thing on their minds. Something was wrong with Maxwell, was it because of what Lilith was trying to do to him, was it because he had a rough day, was he just tired or was it something else that he's not telling them. As Maxwell went to go lay down and rest, he shed a tear into his pillow. As Luz and King went to go wash up, that's when Eda stood nearby and watched Maxwell from a distance. After hearing what Lilith was doing to him or what she tried to do to him, an instinct of hers was rising, a protective instinct.


	19. Chapter 19

Days have gone by and Maxwell seem to be feeling a bit better, there was a time or another when he felt a bit down but King's humor and Luz's affection seem to help him feel better in his mood a little. Maxwell was out and about with Eda, King and Luz as they were running an errand that needed tending.

"Do you think Maxie is alright? He's been quiet the whole time we left the owl house." said Luz worried.

"He's probably just recovering from his ordeal." said Eda.

Maxwell was sticking by them as King would wave to get his attention. He looked towards him.

"Hey Maxie, looky here." said King eagerly.

King crossed his eyes at Maxwell in an attempt to make him laugh which got him to barely react as if he was trying not to laugh.

"Where's that smile, Maxie. I know you got a smile somewhere or do I got to make the face." giggled King.

King suddenly lolled out his huge purple tongue and crossed his eyes again, making silly noises in an attempt to make Maxwell laugh which seemed to work as he choked out a laugh and smiled.

"I got you laughing." laughed King.

King stopped with his silly faces and noises while he had a grin on his face while Maxwell chuckled for a bit.

"See, I got him to laugh." said King proudly.

Maxwell felt somewhat better while Eda and the others ran their errands which Eda had stopped as she stopped by a bench.

"You three sit, I got something else to tend to that I got to do on my own." instructed Eda.

"Are you sure you don't need assistance?" asked Luz.

"Sit down. I'll be fine." Eda told them firmly.

Luz, King and Maxwell sat down on the bench. Eda patted each one of them on the head as if to reassure them everything is alright.

"It's alright guys." said Eda reassuring them.

Eda walked off and went to tend to what she had to do while the rest of them sat down on the bench. Luz and King looked towards Maxwell out of worry.

"Maxie, you sure you're alright? You haven't said a word all day." asked Luz curiously.

"I'm just recovering from that incident before. That, and being out and about is clearing my head." answered Maxwell.

"Well, your with us now, so we're always here for you." said Luz.

Luz placed her hand on Maxwell's shoulder as if to comfort him which he felt it working a little.

"Maxie, how is it you got hair the way you do?" asked King curiously.

"It's naturally been this way." answered Maxwell.

"Well, with your hair and looks, you probably could have any lady you want." said King giggling.

Maxwell blushed and went silent at the idea, leaving King to wonder if he went a bit too far.

"I don't want just any girl. I want the right girl that has my heart. But..." Maxwell stopped midsentence.

King smiled and Luz was trying hard not to go crazy with excitement. Maxwell just realized that he let something slip by accident.

"Ooh, Maxie waxie's got a crushy wushy." giggled King. "So whose the lucky girl?"

"I'd rather not talk about this subject right now." said Maxwell looking away.

King started to blush and giggle as he did a bit of a dance that made his butt look like he was shaking it to a musical groove.

"Maxie got a girl he likes, oh yeah, he does." said King in a sing song voice.

"A human having a crush on a girl in this world, oh please." came a female's voice.

They turned to look up at a female teenager with three eyes on her face and with pink hair stood there with two friends of hers, one being a male who looked like he dressed like a hoodlum and the other with her purple hair being in a ponytail. King's dancing stopped.

"Boscha, a female Cyclops teenager, engages in mischief, pranks, bullying, a potions student at school, nearly killed my friends with your treacherous lies, set ups and thrill seeking, yet you got your bodies swapped with the opposite gender when you got what you deserved for what you did to my friends, you use your Penstegram to bully and harass others and your little hang out got destroyed when it clearly wasn't up to coat." said Maxwell really fast.

This left Boscha and her friends stunned for a moment.

"How did he?" Boscha began.

"Your mind isn't a closed book, sister." said King with a snap of his fingers.

Boscha smiled at this and looked towards Maxwell.

"A southern male human who can read minds." said Boscha.

She placed her hand on Maxwell's shoulder which left him feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"So human, are you single? Because with hair like that and those chiseled features, you look kind of hot. Why don't you and me ditch these two and go on a date." said Boscha hitting on him. "I know a place where they got the best ice cream."

"I'd rather not." said Maxwell denying her politely.

Boscha was a bit surprised at first but she pulled Maxwell to his feet as they saw how tall he looked. Boscha pull Maxwell in her arms as if to hug him. Maxwell wasn't liking this as he shook all over.

"What, you already got a girl or what? Why not be with a real girl like me?" said Boscha as she was being stubborn.

"Uh guys, make her stop, please." pleaded Maxwell.

"Boscha, release him or else." snapped King.

Maxwell managed to wiggle free from Boscha's arms which left her confused and now annoyed.

"Boscha, leave Maxwell alone." warned Luz.

"I'm not your piece of meat." said Maxwell with a hiccup.

"Oh really, what is anyone going to do about it? He's clearly playing hard to get, why else would he be with you guys?" said Boscha rudely. "Hey big boy, don't be a wimp like these two."

A bit of rage kicked into Maxwell at this point. Boscha was about to update her Penstegram when it appeared in a puff of purple smoke. Maxwell snapped his fingers and made the Penstegram she made appear suddenly disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Hey, what was that for?" said Boscha annoyed.

"Take you and your hoodlum friends and leave. You stay away from me and my friends." warned Maxwell looking serious.

Boscha and her friends were surprised to see that Maxwell stood up for someone which left Boscha feeling rather angry.

"Did you just call us hoodlums?" spat Boscha.

"You heard me. Besides, things are different in this world now. There are no dumb, hoodlum teens, no stupid, horny teens, no prejudice between humans and demons, it's just kids, teens and adults. There's us and the people, we survive this coming together, not apart. I'm a guy whose able to tell that you and your friends are trouble, these are my friends, you get in our way and bully any of us, your gonna lose." said Maxwell in a firm tone. "Get out!"

Boscha was left burning mad as she didn't like lectures or being lectured ether.

"What are you going to do about it if I don't, smack me one?" Boscha said sarcastically.

"I don't hit women." said Maxwell defiantly. "Your lucky I don't poke out your third eye and make you look like a human, you bitch."

They all went silent and wide eyed from what they just heard. Maxwell said a swear word towards Boscha.

"He said a swear word." said the girl with the purple hair in a ponytail.

"Whoa, he's got a bit of fight in him. Big, tall, a lot of hair and he denied Boscha, he got you beat Boscha." said the male demon teen.

Boscha was now so angry that she clenched her fists.

"You think your so hot. I challenge you to a race on dead man's curve." Boscha dared.

Boscha pointed out where the location was and Maxwell saw where which was at a road on a very high height that was taller than a sky scraper. Maxwell didn't seem to like how high up it was but he looked right at Boscha as he cracked his knuckles.

"You are crazy, you wanna get killed doing that?" said Maxwell looking surprised.

"I can understand you don't want to do it unless your...scared." taunted Boscha.

Boscha was making chicken clucking sounds to taunt him which Maxwell was annoyed cracked his neck.

"You asked for it, princess." said Maxwell with a grin.

"Don't call me princess!" snapped Boscha.

Boscha took Maxwell by the arm and harshly lead him towards where she was taking him but he looked back at Luz and King as he winked at them.

_"I got an idea."_ he told Luz and King through his mind.

Luz and King didn't like this as they saw them disappear from view.

"Luz, we can't let him do this. When I was in your body, I went over that road like a log dropping from the sky. They're going to hurt him, they're going hurt our buddy." King said panicking.

"Not to mention Eda is going to be so mad when she finds out about this." said Luz worried.

"What am I about to be mad at?" came Eda's voice.

Luz and King turned to Eda and she looked around to see that Maxwell is not with them.

"Where's Maxie?" asked Eda looking serious.

"Okay, before you get mad, it's going to be some bad news and just so you know, it's not Maxie's fault." said Luz nervously.

Luz and King told Eda what went on and as she listened, she showed a wide eyed look of shock from what she just heard.

"He's been dared to do what? Doesn't he realize how dangerous that is?" said Eda alarmed.

"It wasn't his fault, Boscha was harassing us and he was defending us and she made him feel uncomfortable." explained Luz babbling a bit.

"We'll talk about that later, we got to stop this, now!" said Eda sharply. "Someone's in big trouble!"

Eda gotten her staff out and they got onto the staff as they flew towards the sky in order to go stop Maxwell from doing what Boscha was about to do.

Somewhere around the road where Boscha, her friends and Maxwell were at the beginning of the road where they had two giant rat worms. Boscha was on one while Maxwell was on the other when they grabbed the reins of them.

"You ready to lose, blondie?" teased Boscha.

"Kiss my ass." Maxwell spat.

The two raised their hands and slapped the bottoms of the rat worms and the rat worms had them take off like racecars at a race track. The wind blowing in their hair as they were picking up speed.

"You are so done." taunted Boscha.

"In my neck of the woods, this is a national sport." Maxwell snapped.

They kept going faster but than Boscha stopped as Maxwell kept going. He looked back and saw her waving at him while he looked in front of him to see a sign that read "Road Out"

"Ayuda!" shouted Maxwell.

He pulled the reins back to stop but the giant rat worm stopped but Maxwell was sent flying into the air as he saw he was falling from a high height. He knew that there was only one thing he had to do.

"Jiyū no tsubasa!" shouted Maxwell.

Maxwell suddenly formed huge white wings on his back that grew on his back in a white flash of light. His wings suddenly flapped to have him fly in the air and he was flying fast in the air while he cruised around in the air.

"How you like me now, Boscha!" laughed Maxwell.

He was flying in loop da loops and he was whooping it up as Boscha and her friends saw this, Boscha was irate while her friends were shocked beyond belief. They went towards the ground and Maxwell flew towards the ground but did a few flips before he landed on his feet, his wings disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Is that all you got! I'll take your best shot! How you like me now!" said Maxwell in defiance.

"Wow, didn't know a human could do that." said one of the punks.

Boscha went towards Maxwell as she was burning red with anger and she growled loudly.

"You little show off, you were suppose to lose." shouted Boscha.

Maxwell looked at the other kids that were with Boscha as they were surprised and shocked at this. Maxwell felt something overcome him.

"You, young lady, with long, gorgeous, purple hair in a ponytail and you, young man with the sock hat, is this what you want for the rest of your lives? No, you don't want this. I've seen people who were pure evil, people who hurt children like you, children who were not to blame for their situation. Good people taken them in and they became leaders, good people who became leaders in what they got." said Maxwell as if trying to inject compassion in them.

The kids were confused at first. They wondered what Maxwell was getting at, was he trying to make them into better people.

"We've done horrible things to stay alive or to make it in this world, things we wished we never did, knowing we can't take it back. Making enemies isn't what we want. We can let it go, all of it. And no one gets hurt, no one feels pain anymore, no one dies. We're all still alive right now, we've done the worst things just to keep living. But we can still come back, we're not too far gone. We all can change." said Maxwell trying to make peace.

Boscha's friends were looking at each other and back at him, not knowing what to do or say. Boscha looked at him with a spiteful expression.

"Liar!" snapped Boscha.

Boscha formed a fist and landed a punch on Maxwell's face, causing him to fall to the ground as he landed on his side to the ground, spitting out a bit of blood. He tried getting up but tried not to lose himself to breaking down.

"Freeze, you twerps!" came Eda's voice.

As the others saw Eda fly in, that's when Boscha was about to punch him again and he flinched, closing his eyes as he waited for the impact of her fist again but he slowly opened his eyes to see Eda block Boscha's fist.

"Young lady, don't you know hitting others is wrong. Hit him again and I'll do more than yell at you." warned Eda.

Boscha placed her fist down and both Luz and King stood by Maxwell, helping Maxwell up to his feet. Eda looked towards Maxwell with an angered look as she crossed her arms.

"Young man, don't you know that what your doing is dangerous? You could've been killed." said Eda sharply. "Tell me what's going on, just tell me the truth."

Fear overcame Maxwell as he was terrified of Eda from her reaction and the sound of her voice. He shook all over, scared of suffering her wrath.

"There's a simple answer to this, Miss Eda. But please, don't be mad." Maxwell said nervously shaking.

Boscha smiled as if seeing that Maxwell was going to take the blame for her actions, causing her to cross her arms.

"Ooh, he's going to get it." teased Boscha.

"I'm listening." said Eda with her fists on her hips.

Maxwell looked up at Eda and let out a sigh as his body stopped shaking. A tear shed from his eyes.

"It was all Boscha's idea! She made me!" Maxwell finally blurted out.

Maxwell pointed at Boscha and Boscha's smug expression turned to wide eyed shock. Eda looked towards Boscha and the punk teens with an irate expression.

"Hey Cyclops! Is what my boy saying true? Did you bully him and his friends and dare him to go on that suicidal race, setting him up for what could've killed him? I saw you hit him. Admit it!" Eda said harshly.

"I don't know what your talking about?" Boscha lied.

Eda looked at her and back at the punk teens. She gave them a look that was so cold that fear went up their spines.

"We did it, but the race was all her idea." said one of the teens.

They nodded but hung their heads in shame. Eda looked at Boscha with such a cold look that Boscha was showing a bit of shocked fear.

"You little twerp. Your little attempt at revenge could've killed him, you did it once to Luz and King, and now to a little boy. You stay away from my little ones or your all going to wake up as ghosts. You hear me!" warned Eda raising her voice.

Eda suddenly had made her face form into what looked like the scariest form ever as her teeth turned to big and sharp fangs, her eyes turning red, and her face looked like it became demonic as she let out a demonic shriek like scream, causing Boscha and her punk teen friends to scream and run. After they ran, Eda's face morphed back into her normal face.

"And your parents are waiting to ground you!" shouted Eda.

Eda smiled for a bit and turned to Luz, King and Maxwell. Maxwell was hiding behind Luz and had his hands over his ears to block out all noise, his body shaking.

"Is it over?" Maxwell said hopefully.

He removed his hands from his ears and Luz patted Maxwell on his back gently to reassure him that it was over. He looked up and saw Eda looking right at them which he looked away and his body kept shaking. Eda walked towards them and stood in front of them. Eda saw the fear in him and knew it had to mean something.

"Maxie, are you alright? Anything broken?" asked Eda calmly.

Maxwell shook his head as a response and he was barely able to look down at Eda's high heeled shoes, let alone her face. Eda lets out a sigh and places her hand on Maxwell's chest.

"Maxie, calm down." Eda told him kindly. "I only gotten this harsh so I can sweat the truth out of those punks. I'm sorry I scared you."

"I'm sorry for what I did. I didn't mean what I did." said Maxwell starting to calm himself. "No offense but when it looked like you were about to give a smack down, it was scary."

"Luz and King explained everything to me." Eda said with a word of comfort.

Maxwell looked at Luz and King and they nodded with a grin to let him know that Eda was right about what she told him. He felt relieved.

"Thanks for doing what you did for me. I was really afraid you were going to kill me." said Maxwell starting to feel his fear fade.

"Well, the only way I'd punish you is if you did something like bring my house to life through a conjuring when I would tell you not to. The worst I'd do as a punishment would be have you clean the house from top to bottom." Eda explained.

"Just like Luz, Willow and Gus did before?" said Maxwell.

They all were silent for a moment and knew that Maxwell ether read their minds from their memories or that Luz told him about the event. Eda nodded once.

"I did see from a distance how you flew in the air like that, the way you showed up Boscha and her punk friends, that was epic." said Eda thrilled.

Maxwell was feeling as though he didn't expect Eda to tell him that, leaving him surprised yet confused but the feeling quickly dissipated.

"This goes for all of you. If anyone is giving you guys a hard time, come to me and I'll handle them. I don't want any of you to do something that could get you hurt. Understand?" Eda advised.

They nodded and Eda removed her hand from Maxwell as Luz and King felt better in knowing this and that Maxwell was in one piece. They started to walk off as they headed out. Maxwell was silent once more as they took notice to this. Maxwell reached out to take hold of Eda's hand but stopped as if something held him back. Eda saw this.

"Something on your mind, Maxie?" asked Eda.

Maxwell went silent as if he couldn't think. His heart felt like it was screaming "Tell Her Already" but he ignored the feeling.

"Nothing, it's no one." Maxwell lied. "I mean it's _nothing_."

Maxwell walked forwards ahead of them while still remaining close to them in the distance. They were confused to what Maxwell just said. They had one thing on their minds to what he meant. He was thinking of someone but who?

_"Just tell her already! Tell her, you gutless little wimp!"_ Maxwell said to himself.


	20. Chapter 20

Maxwell had felt as though everything in his body was alright but his mind felt like it was a confusing maze of emotions that were running through him rapidly. He had been quiet the whole time and the others were noticing this for the past couple of days. He was outside as he sat near the door of the owl house as he was starting to stand up and pace back and forth.

"Hey Maxie, something on your mind? Hoot hoot." asked Hooty.

Maxwell didn't respond as he went up to the door and looked up at Hooty with a stoic look on his face.

"Maxie, something bothering you? Hoot hoot." asked Hooty again. "Want me to get Eda?"

He shook his head and was wide eyed from the very mention of Eda.

"Hooty...where's a good place to be alone? I'm sorry to be rude but I need a minute alone to think." said Maxwell kindly.

"Well, there's the balcony up top. Hoot hoot." suggested Hooty.

"Thank you, Hooty." said Maxwell.

Maxwell suddenly jumped but he went fifty feet into the air and landed on top of the tower's balcony.

"If anyone needs me Hooty, tell them I'm up here." called Maxwell.

"You got it!" called Hooty.

Maxwell found what looked like an acoustic guitar on the balcony roof and sat next to it. He had his mind on something that had him feeling like he was ignoring all contact with reality. He looked up and he seemed to be imagining someone that was in his head. The image of a woman was on his mind but he had tried to block it out.

"Why do you strike my heart with such lightning? It tortures my heart, my soul cries out why." Maxwell said to himself.

Maxwell was trying to clear his mind but the image of a woman kept coming back to his mind. He saw that it was a woman dressed in maroon or red, leaving his heart to race a bit. He looked towards the guitar, than around him as if to see if anyone was around or nearby. He took hold of the guitar and suddenly placed it in his lap. He began to play a beautiful melody on the acoustics guitar as he was singing in such a beautiful voice like a singer from the sixties decade.

_"I tried, on my own. I thought I'd get there"_

He kept playing the guitar as it's beautiful but sad melody kept playing but little did he know, the door that lead up to the balcony was opening.

_"Around and round, but I was only getting nowhere"_

As he kept playing the melody, and his voice sounding so beautiful that it could break hearts. King was watching from the crack of the door being opened which Maxwell didn't notice.

_"Then you came along and gave me something. Something that I could believe in, trust in. And I won't go back again"_

King was listening to him singing as he opened the door a bit more and see him and he could tell from the look on Maxwell's face that something or someone was on his mind. Maxwell took a breath and kept singing such a beautiful melody.

_"As long as I have you. I can live like there's nothing left to lose. Unbreak every fracture in my heart. Nothing in this world could ever tear this love apart"_

As Maxwell kept playing and strumming the guitar which King couldn't believe how beautiful this looked. Maxwell shed a tear that trickled down his cheek.

_"They say you gotta take the good with the bad. I'll take it all as long as I have you"_

The melody eventually died down and Maxwell placed the guitar to the side as he shed a few more tears. King opened the door fully and could see Maxwell appeared to be suffering.

"Oh God almighty. I need help." said Maxwell his voice shaky.

"Maxie?" King finally spoke.

Maxwell looked up and saw King walking up towards him, he wiped his tears away as if to try and hide his suffering.

"Maxie, what's got you so upset?" asked King looking worried.

"It's nothing." lied Maxwell.

King crawled up on Maxwell and managed to hold onto him as he was face to face with him.

"Want to talk about it?" suggested King.

"It's complicated." said Maxwell trying to calm himself. "It's a guy thing."

"Well, I am a male so I am a guy. So come on, talk about it with the King of demons." King advised.

Maxwell managed to calm himself enough to stop grieving as he blushed deeply.

"It's about a woman." Maxwell finally whispered to him.

King was suddenly blushing and felt a rush of excitement and giddiness. He slid off Maxwell's body and began to jump in excitement.

"Yes! I knew it! Maxie's in love! Our little Maxie is in love!" said King excitedly.

King was dancing as if celebrating the day that a war ended. He wiggled his hips and shook his butt during the dancing while Maxwell only blushed deeper.

"Maxie got a crushie wushie." teased King.

"Keep your voice down!" said Maxwell in hushed tone.

King stopped dancing as he took a bit of mercy on the subject. He faced Maxwell with a smile.

"So whose the lucky girl?" asked King giddily.

Maxwell went silent again but he tried to brave the attempt to say who it was. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out as he closed it.

"I can't...I can't say who it is." Maxwell finally told him.

"Let me guess, you don't know her name?" giggled King.

"I know her name. I just don't want to say it out loud." said Maxwell annoyed.

"Did you kiss her yet?" joked King with a laugh. "Or did she kiss you?"

Maxwell was beet red at this point and King made smooching noises.

"Oh Maxie, your so cute, kiss me big boy." teased King sounding womanly.

"King, could we be serious about this? I don't know what to do." Maxwell told him with a slight break in his voice.

"Okay, lover boy. So what's the lucky girl like? Does she have a big booty and massive boobies?" joked King.

"King please. This is serious, I can't help this feeling." begged Maxwell. "She's pure beauty like a golden eagle soaring in the sky, my heart beats faster than Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird jet when I'm around her. I really like her but I'm scared of her at the same time."

King saw a look on Maxwell's face that told him that this was a serious thing to the young human male.

"You really are scared of her but you also really like her?" said King curiously.

The young human nodded once and even told young male demon "King, I'm scared"

"Oh man, you really have it bad for her, do you?" asked King. "You really like this girl."

Maxwell nodded and his blushing slightly faded a little from seeing King show some compassion.

"Want me to get Eda or Luz? They at least know something about this, well, Eda does." suggested King.

"No!" begged Maxwell. "King, please don't tell!"

Maxwell grabbed hold of King and had him held directly at his face.

"King, I don't want anyone to know. I want to figure this out on my own." Maxwell pleaded. "Just don't tell the girls, they'd laugh at me."

"Maxie, you know they'd never laugh at you. They'd be thrilled to know your in love. Eda might make a joke like I do, but they wouldn't laugh at you." King said attempting to pacify Maxwell's feelings.

Maxwell gulped loudly and hiccupped as loud as he ever had, his blushing getting a darker shade on his face. King realized what he said might've made it worse.

"I'm not helping, am I?" said King realizing what he told him.

Maxwell shook his head and King took notice that his teasing or his words didn't help much.

"Well, how about this? If you run out of options on what to do about winning this girl's heart, than we can talk about it with Eda and Luz, and even me. But only if you run out of options on what you should do." King kindly suggested.

With very little choice, he nodded and that's when King placed his paw on Maxwell's chest as a sign of trust and compassion.

"King, promise me you won't tell the girls? I know they're supportive but for now, I want to keep this between us." said Maxwell kindly.

Maxwell looking at King with an expression that was begging for him not to tell anyone about this, which King let out a sigh and grinned.

"Alrighty, big guy. But only because your our big boy. But just so you know, if this girl breaks your heart, she's as dead as corpse." said King with a bit of a protective instinct.

Maxwell gulped loudly from hearing King telling him what he'd do if a girl broke his heart. Maxwell hugged him gently and King hugged him back, after hugging each other for a few minutes, they removed their hands from each other and King slid off him.

"Just out of curiosity, what happened between you and this girl you said was out of your league? Did she hurt you, did she make you cry?" asked King as his protective instinct was kicking in.

Maxwell knew one of them would ask him eventually but didn't think it would be so soon. He shook his head.

"No, she had a boyfriend already. I knew I couldn't steal her away from this guy because that would be adultery and I couldn't do that." said Maxwell finally telling him.

King saw that Maxwell was very sweet that he wouldn't steal someone else's girl but also felt bad for him that this one girl was taken, knowing that must of hurt him inside.

"Does anyone else know?" asked King.

"I never told anyone about this, no." answered Maxwell.

King's protective instincts seem to still be with him as if he knew that Maxwell needed a big brother figure.

"Well Maxie, like Luz said, if that girl can't see what a sweet boy you are and that she can't see that she'd be lucky to have you as her boyfriend, than it's her loss." stated King with a snap of his fingers.

"Thanks for talking to me about this, King. I really needed that." Maxwell said relieved.

"No sweat, big guy. Need a minute up here?" said King.

Maxwell nodded as he felt better talking about this to King. King was walking off and went through the doorway of the balcony.

"I'll be downstairs with the others if you need us or wonder where we're at." called King.

He closed the door and walked down the stairs. King hummed all the way down the stairs and entered the kitchen where Eda and Luz were sitting down in. Eda and Luz looked as though they were sitting down to rest their feet. They saw him walking in.

"King, where did you run off to?" asked Eda curiously.

"Up on the balcony rooftop. Just having a talk with Maxie and giving him a pep talk." answered King.

"What did you talk to him about?" asked Luz.

King went silent as he hopped up and sat in one of the seats at the table as he tried to show he wasn't bothered by the question at all.

"Nothing, just guy stuff." King lied.

"You sure? There's always a way to tell when someone is lying." said Eda suspecting something.

"If I was lying, than all the fur from my body would fall off and I'd looked like a hairless dog." said King.

"Or a hairless mole rat." joked Eda giggling.

Eda laughed a bit and King shrugged it off.

"Really funny, comedian." King said sarcastically.

Suddenly, a loud fart was heard and they all were wide eyed with shock. They each suspected one of them was the cause of it but said nothing.

"Is Maxie feeling better? He's been quiet for days." asked Luz changing the subject.

"Yeah, sure. A little pow wow was all he needed." said King only telling half the truth.

Luz reached out to gently scratch underneath King's chin which left him blushing and shaking a bit, feeling relaxed.

"I think that's sweet of you that your caring about Maxie." said Luz cutely.

"Ohhh, that feels good. You know me, I can't stand to see a little boy cry." said King chuckling from the gentle scratching.

Luz eventually stopped scratching King's chin and pulled him in her arms as she would hug him while he would chuckle. While on the rooftop of the tower's balcony, Maxwell got up and was starting to walk down the stairs of the tower and closed the door.

"I just hope that she'll like me back." muttered Maxwell.

Maxwell was feeling better that he was able to talk to someone about this. Maxwell was in love but with who?


	21. Chapter 21

Hours have gone by since Maxwell told King about how he had been feeling when he told King he's in love but King was a bit curious to who this mysterious lady was that the male human teenager told the little wolf male demon yet King remained silent about it as Maxwell informed him that he didn't want Eda and Luz to get involved. The boiling rain had started which Eda used a force field generation spell to shield the entire house. Maxwell, King and Luz were in the living room as Maxwell was starting to talk again.

"How you feeling Maxie?" asked Luz curiously.

Maxwell sat on the couch, King was sitting near him while Luz just sat near them. Maxwell looked towards Luz and let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm alright." Maxwell answered.

"Was King tickling you?" giggled Luz trying to be funny.

"If I was tickling him, you would've heard him laughing and I'd be tickling his belly till he couldn't breathe." said King with a grin. "Hey Maxie, looky here."

Maxwell turned to face King and the little male demon crossed his eyes and flopped out his whole huge tongue to make a silly face and made silly noises. This caused Maxwell and Luz to laugh.

"We know he wants to laugh and smile, even if he doesn't want to." laughed King.

King stopped with the silly faces and silly noises to show some mercy so they wouldn't choke from laughter.

"Where's Eda?" asked Maxwell curiously.

The front door opened and in walked Eda as she closed the door behind her. She stretched her back and let out a groan as she did.

"Anything going on in here that I should know about?" asked Eda with a grin.

"Nothing." Maxwell immediately told her.

"You two haven't been making out like a couple of crazy teenagers?" joked Eda with a laugh.

They went silent. Luz blushed but Maxwell was blushing deeper as Eda laughed about her joke she cracked.

"I wasn't doing that." Luz nervously chuckled.

"That's not funny." said Maxwell annoyed.

"You know I'm kidding, you little rascal." giggled Eda.

Eda giggled as she walked by and Maxwell saw the changing screen nearby as he suddenly glanced at what looked like a pink bra hanging from the sides of it. He was blushing deeper than ever.

"Whose is that?" Maxwell asked as he pointed out the bra. "Wait, don't tell me that's."

"A frilly pink lady's bra." Luz finished for him.

Maxwell covered his eyes with his hands and groaned in disgust and shock.

"Oh man, I saw a lady's undergarments. Little boys shouldn't be looking at that." said Maxwell grossed out. "Could someone put that way, please? My eyes are burning."

Eda stopped and both her and Luz looked right at Maxwell. Seeing his reaction made them just realize that they got a young boy living with them and if he saw a lady's bra, panties or worse, saw one of them naked, it would be a bit a much for him.

"Whoops, forgot about that." said Eda blushing.

Eda went behind the changing screen and pulled the bra over so he wasn't looking at it. A bright flash of white light briefly flashed and when Eda came out from it, she wore a plum sweater with amber cuffs, a stained, long, violet nightgown, and light yellow bunny slippers.

"Is it safe to open my eyes now?" asked Maxwell.

"All clear. Besides, could've been worse. You could've seen a woman naked." said Eda reassuring him.

"I have but it was an accident." said Maxwell removing his hands from his eyes.

They all turned to Maxwell with a surprised yet curious expression. Maxwell actually saw a lady naked by accident? That was something they didn't know.

"You saw a naked lady?" asked Luz blushing.

"It was an accident. I was nine and I was told where the bathroom was when I was at my old school but they didn't tell me that they moved the boys bathroom to another area of the place. I accidently walked in on several eighteen year old girls in the locker room's showers. They didn't tell me they moved the boys bathroom." explained Maxwell looking traumatized by the memory.

"How many naked girls?" said King looking surprised.

"So many naked bodies I can never unsee!" said Maxwell slowly and shook with disgust.

Eda fought the urge to laugh but managed to only chuckle while blushing a bit deeper.

"Maybe they should've invited him in so they can give him a kiss." laughed Eda jokingly.

Maxwell let out a loud hiccup and shook with disgust. Eda decided to stop with the jokes to have some mercy on Maxwell.

"Well Maxie, if it makes you feel any better. Some times some guys I formerly dated had told me they've seen worse when they were your age. But don't sweat it. It's part of growing up." said Eda trying to reassure Maxwell.

Maxwell felt a little better hearing this from Eda but he didn't feel comfortable seeing something that was the unmentionables that belonged to a woman. Eda was about to walk towards the couch but as Maxwell got up to stretch his back, his necklace came out from inside his shirt collar and it had a gold cross that hung from his chest. She saw the reflection of light from the window make it shimmer and shine a light off it which got Eda to stare at it with wide eyes of excitement.

"It sparkles and shimmers. It shines and delights." Eda whispered eagerly. "I must have it for my nest..."

Eda walked towards him eagerly while Maxwell with a wide eyed grin while Maxwell was backing away from her.

"Guys, she's got that look in her eyes and I'm freaking out." warned Maxwell.

"She gets distracted by shiny objects. We probably should've told you." said Luz getting up.

Eda was making a reach for Maxwell's pendant but he dodged her hand and Eda was playfully getting closer.

"Snap out of it!" said Maxwell sharply. "Edalyn Clawthorne, snap out of it, right now!"

Eda snapped out of her entranced stated Maxwell clapped his hands to his mouth to keep his mouth closed while Eda looked right at him with a serious expression, she crossed her arms as if to look annoyed.

"Maxwell Logan! Did you just say my real name, young man?" Eda asked sternly.

Maxwell felt frightened by this as he removed his hands from his mouth and looked away out of fear of suffering Eda's wrath.

"I didn't mean it, Miss Eda. Don't hit me!" begged Maxwell.

This got them all surprised to hear Maxwell say such a thing. Afraid of being struck by Eda for saying her real name out loud. Eda realized that her distraction with shiny objects was what caused this situation and she let out a sigh as her expression changed. She reached out to place her hand on Maxwell's cheek, causing him to flinch as he closed his eyes shut.

"Relax, kiddo. I'm not going to hit you. You just tried to get me to snap back to reality. But on a side note, never say my real name out loud ever again." Eda explained while kindly warning him.

"Lo siento señora." said Maxwell in a shaky voice.

"Translation Luz?" asked Eda curiously.

"He said he was sorry." Luz translated.

Maxwell opened his eyes and saw Eda trying to appear less intimidating and less ferocious. She patted Maxwell's head in an attempt to pacify his fear which worked a little bit.

"Maxie, nothing to worry about. Your forgiven." said Eda calmly.

Hearing this managed to help Maxwell feel his fear fade a little and his body shook less while Eda was stretching her back once again and scratched the side of her body like she was scratching an itch.

"I think Eda's tired out." said Luz taking notice.

"A little bit." said Eda admitting the truth.

Something was kicking into Maxwell and it was a valiant feeling that he couldn't ignore, he swallowed his fear and looked as though he was doing something as a direct order.

"Eda, wouldn't you feel comfortable in your bed?" asked Maxwell curiously.

"I'm alright, I can handle this." said Eda looking like she was about to fall asleep on the floor.

"Your sleepy reaction and state of exhaustion says otherwise. Please Eda, let me lend you a hand this time. I only want to assist you, even if you tell me no. I know I got to do something to assist you right now and this is one of them moments." Maxwell stated looking determined.

Eda could tell that Maxwell was right, even if she didn't want to admit it. Maxwell held out his hand for her to take and she let out a sigh.

"Alright, kiddo. But I'm only doing this because I might pass out on the hard floor." said Eda relenting.

Eda took Maxwell's hand and lead the way towards her room. Maxwell stood next to Eda while he would help her stand and walk as they went down the hallway that had some doors on the sides while they were getting closer to the stares. They stopped for a minute once they reached the foot of the stairs.

"You sure you can pull the rest of the weight up the stairs, little man?" asked Eda with a yawn. "I can probably get up the stairs no problem."

"I wouldn't take that chance. Gravity has a habit of proving us wrong and I should know. I nearly fallen down a flight of stairs once and I got my idiocy to thank for that." Maxwell explained. "You don't have to try to be so tough all the time. We'll take it one step at time."

Even though Eda felt tired and sleepy, she saw the determination and compassion in Maxwell's behavior and words. She knew there was no talking him out of this.

"Okay, but I'm not some old, frail grandmother. I'm not as old as you think." said Eda giving in.

"I'm not saying anything." Maxwell stated nervously.

Maxwell helped Eda up the stairs to the second floor as he had an arm around her from behind in case if she was to fall. They made it to the second floor and made it to Eda's room. They opened double doors.

"Maxwell, why are you doing this for me? Even if I said no." asked Eda.

"I'd do anything for you. I could never disobey you. I want to help you when you need it, even if you tell me no, I still want to help you." answered Maxwell kindly.

Eda felt as though hearing this from Maxwell was telling her something. Was Maxwell trying to chivalrous or more of a gentlemen towards her, she was confused at first but brushed it off. She let Maxwell carefully sit her down in the nest she has for a bed. Eda reached out to place her hand on Maxwell's cheek while looking up at him with a grin.

"If anyone said you are a bad boy, they're liars." yawned Eda. "Maxie's a good little boy."

She reached out to place her arm around Maxwell's neck as she was about to pucker up her full maroon lips and go in for a kiss to Maxwell's cheek but she fell over to her side and accidently had Maxwell fall in the nest with her. Eda was laying on her side in the next while it looked like she pulled Maxwell in her arms in a firmly strong grip, it was like she was cuddling a huge pillow or a teddy bear big as him.

"I'm a good little boy?" said Maxwell silently.

Maxwell felt a sense of pride but it was short lived when he saw that in Eda's nest around him. There was bones and human junk littered around it, seeing the sight of bones nearly made him scream but he closed his mouth shut as his heart raced from fear.

_"Luz, King, help me."_ Maxwell called out through his mind.

He waited for a few minutes and both Luz and King showed up and saw Maxwell in the position he's in. King was trying hard not to burst out laughing but Maxwell shook his head.

_"Don't say a word out loud. I don't want to wake her. I can't get out."_ said Maxwell to them through his mind.

Luz turned and saw what looked like a huge pillow nearby and went for it. She pulled it over towards Eda's nest and laid the huge pillow in her nest, than Eda's arms wrapped around the huge pillow and Maxwell silently slipped out of the nest. They walked out of the room and walked towards the living room. Maxwell's fear died dissipated.

"We're you and Eda getting snuggly wuggly?" teased King.

"We were not." said Maxwell annoyed. "She conked out and accidently pulled me in the nest. Nothing happened but being that close to a lady's body, in their bed, and while she's in her night clothing. So awkward."

"So you didn't see Eda, well, you know?" asked Luz cautiously.

"No, but I felt I shouldn't be in a woman's bed without their permission." answered Maxwell. "I could never disobey Eda. I want to help her when she needs it, even if she tells me no. I still want to help her."

They heard this and were surprised. Was Maxwell being chivalrous? Was he revealing he has feelings for Eda or was it something else completely?

"Are you saying you like Eda?" asked Luz curiously.

Maxwell went silent and fought very hard not to blush and he walked off.

"Where you off to?" asked King.

"Just got to wash off." said Maxwell.

Maxwell was inside the bathroom for the next hour as he was looking at himself in the mirror, he would use the toilet and wash his hands and his face. He looked in the mirror and had a deep blushing expression.

"Her curse, it's going to kill her." said Maxwell staring into the mirror. "I got to do something to help her. This isn't fair to her, she didn't do anything to deserve this. She didn't ask for this."

Without warning, he heard a loud crash that sounded like glass breaking loudly and the lights went out like a power outage. Maxwell shook and was startled by the clap of thunder from the storm.

"What in the world is going on?" Maxwell said out loud.

He walked out of the bathroom and saw that the lights were out in the whole house. This made Maxwell feel uneasy, it felt like something was watching or following him. He made it to the living room and saw that there was claw marks on the walls and the door was knocked down on the floor.

"Hooty?" said Maxwell walking over to him.

Maxwell examined him like a doctor with a patient, waving his hand in front of Hooty's face, he tried snapping his fingers and lightly rubbing Hooty's face, he was unconscious and unresponsive. He got up and looked towards the entrance of the hallway.

"Luz? King? Are you there?" called out Maxwell.

Maxwell gulped and braved his attempt to find Luz and King through out the house, he saw more claw marks but he went up the stairs to see if maybe Eda was aware of what was going on. He went to see if Eda was in her room but he found the place is ransacked but Eda wasn't in there. This only made him feel worried.

"Eda? We have a problem here." called out Maxwell.

He heard what sounded like a monstrous growling coming from behind him and saw what looked like a giant, scary owl demon that looked at him with those dark, black eyes, it had the same hair like Eda and looked at him with a toothy, large fanged grin.

"Eda, you forgot to take the elixir?" said Maxwell fearfully.

Maxwell backed away from her as Eda wasn't responding to him while she followed him. Maxwell's heart was pounding from fear as this was looking like a life or death situation to him.

"Eda, listen to me. It's Maxwell, the one you call Maxie but only call me by my real name when I do something I wasn't suppose to do. You helped me stand up to Lilith. Are you listening?" babbled Maxwell attempting to get through to her.

Eda was backing him against the wall like someone backing an animal into a corner. She wasn't responding as she raised a clawed hand as she was about to strike.

"Luz, King, help me!" screamed Maxwell.

Maxwell managed to dodge Eda's strike as he slid underneath her and made a run for it when he felt a stinging scratch brush on his arm, causing him to groan in pain and feel like his left arm was hurting a little but he didn't take the time to see what it was that scratched him. Eda was chasing him as he was too terrified to look back. He went down one hallway and was grabbed by two arms into a room with the door closing. He turned to see Luz and King in there with him in one of the storage closets. He hugged Luz out of relief.

"Luz, it's Eda. She forgot to." Maxwell began.

"We know." said King and Luz in unison.

After the two of them released their arms from each other, one of them felt something wet on them. Luz looked at Maxwell's left arm and saw claw marks and a bit of blood but it looked like a bigger band aid would fix it.

"Maxie, your bleeding." said Luz looking worried.

Maxwell looked at his arm and saw the scratch marks along with the blood, he wasn't leaking blood horribly but it was looking more like it would stop on it's own. Maxwell was looking alarmed and turned to Luz and King as he held onto his arm.

"We should do something about your arm." suggested Luz.

Just as soon as Luz and King were about to tend to Maxwell's arm, the door to the room they were in got knocked off it's hinges. Eda entered the room and they ran off before Eda could grab them. Luz gotten an idea.

"Maxie, I got an idea but it's going to be crazy." Luz told him. "Meet me back up the stairs. Distract Eda for a bit."

"Wait a minute!" said Maxwell.

"Just trust me." advised Luz.

Luz carried King towards the stairs while Maxwell was walking down the hallway slowly as he looked left and right, in front and behind him and he didn't see Eda anywhere. Fear was overwhelming him but he kept trying to keep going.

"Madame Eda? Please don't be mad at me for what I'm doing. I'd never do anything to hurt you." whimpered Maxwell.

He heard what sounded like growls and claws dragging against the walls. He kept walking but stopped. He was too afraid to think clearly but the only thing on his mind was Eda's beautiful face, how sympathetic Luz has been and how humorous King has been. He shed a tear at the thought of losing them.

"Eda?" called out Maxwell.

He turned down one corridor and saw Eda from a distance. She growled and turned to look towards him. Maxwell saw her and she charged at him with a loud monstrous shriek. An idea popped into Maxwell's panicked mind as he pulled out his pendant and snapped his fingers and a golf ball sized ball of light formed in his hand as he used the light spell to make cross shine and shimmer. Seeing that shimmering shine got Eda's attention as she stopped at a halt in front of him. She was distracted by the shimmering shine of his cross while he dodged her hands.

"I apologize in advance for this." said Maxwell as he took off. "Come and get me!"

As he ran off, she followed by chasing after him. Maxwell ran down the hallway and was looking for the hallway that lead to the stairs. He turned down one corridor and hallway after the other till he turned to see the hall that lead to the stairs.

"Luz? King? Now's the time!" called Maxwell.

"Just cover your eyes when we say so!" called Luz.

Maxwell was about to run up there but Eda reached him and grabbed hold of his left arm that had the claw marks. He tried to pulled away from her but her grip was very strong.

"Eda, don't make me do this!" said Maxwell trying to be brave.

In one swift move and with as much strength as possible. Maxwell pulled his arm from Eda's grip but her claws accidently left more scratch marks on his left arm, causing him to scream in pain. He ran towards the stairs and ran up the steps with Eda running behind him. He saw what looked like a big symbol drawn on the wall that Luz and King were standing next to.

"Maxie, cover your eyes!" instructed Luz.

He ran over towards them and turned around as he saw Eda enter the hallway that lead to them. He walked a few steps forward and spread his arms apart as if preparing the worst.

"Take me! I can't harm you, even if your in this form, take me!" called Maxwell.

He closed his eyes and just as Eda charged at him, that's when Luz tapped her hand against the drawn symbol that was on the wall and a bright light formed which caused Eda to scream a demonic and monstrous like shriek, blinding her. It took a while for the light to fade.

"Is it over?" said Maxwell nervously.

Maxwell was afraid but slowly opened his eyes to see that Eda was unconscious. He saw Luz pouring the entire vial of the elixir into Eda's mouth, causing her to swallow it down whole.

"She's not?" Maxwell began.

"No, just knocked out." said King reassuring him.

Eda's body wasn't moving but she started to rapidly turn back into her normal form. Maxwell was nearly terrified out of his wits but something inside him was trying to overcome it as he walked over to pull Eda up and carry her over his right shoulder with impressive strength. Carrying her towards her bedroom was something Luz and King were shocked by how strong Maxwell appears to be in the body. They followed him as he laid her in her nest.

"Maxie, you can carry her?" said King surprised.

"I'd do anything for Eda." said Maxwell holding onto his arm. "Hercules got nothing on me."

Luz saw that Maxwell was holding onto his arm and groaned. She would walk over to him to see how bad his wound was.

"Let me see your arm." instructed Luz.

"No!" said Maxwell sharply. "There's no need."

They looked at him with concern and worry as Maxwell whimpered from both pain and fear.

"Maxie, I promise it won't hurt." stated Luz calmly.

Maxwell knew that he can trust Luz and let out a sigh. He turned to them and showed them his left arm which had more scratch marks, and was bleeding a bit more than before. Luz and King were alarmed but tried not to freak Maxwell out any further he appeared to be.

"Maxie, if I need to use ointment or some kind of medicine for first aid, it's probably going to sting but only for a minute. But I promise you'll be alright." Luz told him.

She placed her hand on his cheek to lift his face up to look at her as she had a sympathetic expression towards.

"Mamá Luz te tiene." Luz told him kindly.

Maxwell nodded as Luz and King walked off to get the first-aid kit as it took them a minute to look for it. Maxwell was watching over Eda as he muttered something in a foreign language and placed his right hand over his left arm. A glowing gold light shined from his right hand, causing his wounds to appear as though healing rapidly. It happened in seconds but there was still blood stains on his own arm and the scratch marks looked like nothing but pink lines when the glowing light disappeared. He traced his finger in the air and he traced circles in the air as over two dozen gold circles appeared and he snapped his fingers which made them appear to be more like lights to illuminate the room, that's when and both Luz and King arrived.

"Maxie, we got it." came Luz as they entered the room.

Luz and King took a look at Maxwell and saw his arm was completely healed but still had blood stains, leaving them to be confused.

"Maxie, how did you?" asked Luz curiously.

"There was no need." stated Maxwell.

"Well, that's some good news." said King relieved.

"How's Eda?" asked Luz.

They got their answer when Eda stirred as she got up, rubbing the grogginess out of her eyes and she had her vision become clear. She saw them looking back at them.

"I feel like I did something crazy while sleep walking. Did I join a circus while I was asleep?" yawned Eda while stretching.

"Eda, your curse came back but we got the elixir is already in you." Luz informed.

"Everyone alright?" Eda asked hopefully.

They went silent and knew that they had to tell Eda about Maxwell's wound he had on his arm. Luz took hold of Maxwell's hand and nodded with a sympathetic look. Maxwell braved the attempt and walked over towards Eda and showed her his blood stained arm but she saw the wounds were no longer there. Eda was feeling shocked as she got up from her nest and stood up on her feet. She looked alarmed.

"Maxie, it's alright. You got nothing to worry about." said Eda trying to reassure him.

Eda took hold of Maxwell's left arm to see if there was any damages to him but what happened next was without warning. Maxwell rushed towards Eda and wrapped her arms around her in a hug as he tried hard not to break down but he couldn't as tears leaked out of his eyes and he began to silently cry. Eda was surprised.

"Maxie, it's alright." said Eda feeling awkward about the sudden embrace.

"Don't leave me." Maxwell blurted out.

They all were wide eyed with shocked surprise. Maxwell was looking as though a small child was desperately clinging to his mother as if afraid of being separated from her.

"What?" said Eda surprised.

Maxwell looked up at Eda with tears running down his cheeks. He was appearing to be despondent and frightened at the same time. Eda was not expecting this.

"Don't leave me, Eda. Please! Don't leave me!" Maxwell said in a shaky voice.

Maxwell completely broke down in tears and hidden his face into Eda's chest, tears running out of his eyes as if he could cry himself a river. They were all taken-aback by this. Eda tried to look serious.

"Maxie, calm down!" said Eda sharply.

"I can't! Don't leave me, don't leave me, don't leave me!" Maxwell said desperately clinging to her.

Eda placed her hands on Maxwell's shoulders and gave them a firm grip as she tried to get his attention.

"Maxwell Logan, look at me!" said Eda firmly.

Maxwell braved to look up at Eda as she looked back at him with a serious expression on her face. Tears were still running down his fright-stricken face.

"Maxwell Logan, calm down! I'm not leaving you! I'm not leaving Luz or King. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere!" Eda told him firmly.

"Maxie, Eda's not gonna leave us!" Luz told him trying to comfort him.

Maxwell was so overwhelmed as if he was having an emotional breakdown. He tried to calm himself down but it resulted in him fainting to the floor. They all were shocked to see this. They never saw each other have an emotional breakdown nor have they remembered if anyone else has been through that in front of them. Eda, Luz and King sat next to him as both Eda and Luz held him up and dried the tears from his face.

"Luz, when my curse came back. What happened?" asked Eda.

"Same as last time when you first told us about it. But while in that form, well, he got hurt. His left arm had claw marks and he was bleeding." answered Luz explaining.

Eda was alarmed at hearing that Maxwell got hurt that way and looked right at him.

"Luz, I never want to hurt any of you." said Eda softly. "How bad was his wound?"

"It wasn't as bad as we expected but it did need tending to. When we came back to treat his wound, it looked like his wound healed in seconds. This power he possess could have a super human healing factor." said Luz as she explained the situation. "I've never seen him this upset before."

As they looked right at Maxwell. King managed to hug him from his stomach while Eda planted a kiss to Maxwell's forehead and Luz planted a kiss towards Maxwell's right cheek. He seemed to sense the kissing as his heart rate calmed and he blushed deeply with a peaceful expression on his face.

"Don't...leave...me." said Maxwell while unconscious.

Eda placed her hand on Maxwell's chest where his heart was located and gently rubbed around that area. They knew that what happened was serious. Luz felt her mama bear instincts kicking in. King was worried too. But Eda, she may not have looked as worried as the others, she wondered what it was that caused Maxwell to have an emotional breakdown like that when he begged her not to leave him. She suspected it wasn't him seeing her in her cursed form that did it. She suspected that this was starting to be more of a deep seated issue.


	22. Chapter 22

Two days have gone by ever since Maxwell's emotional breakdown and during that time. He was silent, wouldn't say a word. He literally wouldn't say a word the whole time. Luz tried to get Maxwell to talk but all he would do was hug Luz while she would assume he was about to sob as she would do her best to comfort him. King tried to make him laugh but his attempts failed. Eda on the other hand may not have looked like it, but on the inside, she was worried about what was bothering Maxwell. Everytime she interacted with Maxwell, he would ether blush as deep as he ever did or he would cling to her as if afraid to be alone. He wouldn't leave the safety of the house. If anyone had to leave the house for any reason, they made sure that someone would stay at the house to watch out for Maxwell. Eda had repaired all the damages to the house with her magic but surprisingly, Maxwell assisted her.

It was nightfall. The time was close to midnight and Maxwell was asleep in the living room. He was sleeping on the couch as he was tossing and turning, feeling as though something prevented him from sleeping peacefully. Maxwell suddenly opened his eyes and his eyes were glowing bright white as he saw a vision of what looked as though could've been past or future.

He saw what looked like a young Eda when she had bright orange hair, wore what looked like a Hexside uniform that looked like a Potionists track uniform with a yellow suit with a black suit and cowl over it and black shoes. She was laying down on what looked like a stone table and was unconscious. She looked like she was a teenager.

_"Prepare for the ritual."_ came a high, cold male's voice.

The male's voice sounded like it had a Russian accent and the male's voice revealed to be a tall male with pale green skin, long dark green hair wearing a brown cowl and a long cloak with dark green boots, a dark green belt and the man's face was not seen. But than Lilith came into view.

_"You do know what this will do if you do this?"_ asked Lilith looking hesitant.

Lilith appeared to be a teenager in this vision which both Eda and Lilith looked as though they were old enough to have graduated Hexside one year ago from how young they looked. Lilith was looking hesitant.

_"A rogue and rebellious witch like your sister will bring down the emperor and his entire coven along with his plans for the future of the Boiling Isles."_ said the male in a voice that sounded like a rush of cold air. _"She's getting stronger and could be a powerful adversary against the emperor and the coven."_

The male let out a loud snake like hiss which Lilith had a surprised and horrified expression from seeing the look on the male's face which in Maxwell's vision, the face was still unseen.

_"But what if the curse gets lifted and she's free from it?"_ asked Lilith.

The male looked at her and sounded angry from the enraged hissing sounds.

_"That's not going to happen. Even if it does get lifted and she's freed from it, than the emperor, his coven and the future of the Boiling Isles will be brought to it's knees."_ said the male clenching his fists. _"I'm under the orders from Kikimora and even though you and your sister will be graduating soon, the psychic that I killed predicted what your sister will do in the future has to be stopped. Even if she runs and hides, you and the emperor's coven will find her, capture her and put a stop to her as a rogue witch. Eventually, the curse will completely consume her, so we'll have her stopped one way or another."_

Lilith listened to him and looked as though she was visibly shaken. The first time that she showed fear or seen to have shown fear.

_"Besides, I laced her drink at her home with tranquilizers so I can carry out these orders. You may have something to do with her getting cursed so your hands are just as dirty as mine. Now you will witness the curse being put on her as a demonstration about stopping any future problems against the emperor. Now do as your told!"_ the male ranted and yelled.

Lilith was wide eyed but a look of guilt was spreading across her face and she nodded. The male had suddenly walked over to Eda's unconscious body and stood next to her as his face was revealed. He had blood red eyes, sharp, white fangs and the skin on his face looked rather reptilian. He placed his hands over Eda's body and was chanting what sounded like an enchantment.

_"Rogue witch of the Boiling Isles with such a rebel style, nothing has you completely prepared for what you are ready, one thing is for certain, you will know your place when the curse consumes you when it's the final curtain, you will be no more than ready, I curse you with the curse of the owl lady."_ chanted the male. _"The only way you can keep the curse at bay is an elixir a day, but you will not know of an elixir that will keep the curse at bay for even a year which is what will not be clear."_

He placed his glowing hands on Eda's body and it caused her to glow all over her body. She let out a monster like shriek.

_"No! Get away from her, get your hands off her, stop it!"_ Maxwell groaned to this.

The next thing that he saw was a black void now and he saw Eda standing up and looking at what she saw was a shadowy figure at an opened door.

_"Hey, who are you?"_ called out Eda.

_"Eda! I know who did it! I can do something about this!"_ Maxwell called out.

Everything faded to black and Maxwell's vision returned as he woke up. He was panting and feeling a bit dizzy which was taking time to fade.

"I got to free her of this curse." said Maxwell.

Foot steps were heard and Maxwell got up in attempt to face what or who was coming but his legs got tangled in the blanket he had on him and he fell off the couch with a thud, landing on his back.

"Ouch, gravity is going to be the death of me one day, damn it." groaned Maxwell.

"Let the wrong words slip again?" came a female's voice.

Maxwell suddenly clapped a hand to his mouth and realized who it was as he looked up. He saw Eda standing at the entrance of the hallway from the living room. He blushed and looked away while Eda walked over to him as he removed his hand from his mouth.

"Can't sleep? I could hear your moaning, it was low moans that I could sleep through but I got curious after I used the ladies room." asked Eda.

"I'm sorry Eda. Don't be mad at me." said Maxwell softly.

"I'm not mad. But did you have a nightmare?" asked Eda curiously.

Maxwell managed to get his legs untangled from the blanket and managed to get up on his feet. He hesitated to look up at Eda's face as if sensing she knew what went on in his head.

"It's confusing." answered Maxwell.

"What's confusing about it?" asked Eda.

"It was ether vision of the past or a bad dream. I don't know which it was." answered Maxwell.

Eda was curious. How can someone have a vision of the past? She had no idea but knew it wasn't all implausible. She placed her right hand on his right shoulder and her left hand on his left cheek as she began to slowly lift his face up to look at her. He was seen blushing and shaking all over.

"Maxie, we're worried about you. You haven't spoke in two days, you've been clinging to me and Luz like a frightened little boy who needs his mother and you've been looking depressed. What's up with you?" asked Eda feeing worried. "It's my curse, is it? You're afraid I'll hurt you like before when I can't control myself in that form."

Maxwell shook all over from nervousness and fear as if afraid to tell Eda what was bothering him.

"I'm scared, Eda." said Maxwell trembling.

"Would you feel better if you told me what it was your afraid of?" asked Eda curiously.

Maxwell wrapped his arms around Eda as if to hug her in an attempt to seek comfort from her. This left Eda feeling a bit awkward but she remained calm about it.

"I can't go back to the human realm. Where I lived back there isn't safe for me anymore. You could say I'm like Luz but lets just say I was worse off." Maxwell confessed.

Hearing this had Eda wondering if Maxwell had lived in a broken home, was bullied or worse, was he abused brutally by someone close to him? She couldn't tell which as she could only guess.

"Someone hurt you, didn't they?" Eda asked.

Maxwell shed a couple of tears and nodded, finally relenting a little. Eda didn't like the sound of this as she coaxed a little bit of the truth out of him.

"Who hurt you?" Eda asked.

"Many people." Maxwell answered.

Now Eda could really tell that Maxwell is hurting inside and needed someone to heal his pain. She knew if anyone hurt Luz or King, she'd com running to help them, and she felt the same with Maxwell.

"I may not always be the affectionate type of person and I know I don't always show it, but I really do care about you, Luz and King. You are under my protection just like Luz and King." Eda told him to reassure him.

Maxwell felt her words were consoling him but he did feel as though it was more of a first step as this would be more of a gradual solution.

"Come with me, Maxie." instructed Eda.

Eda began to take Maxwell by the hand as she lead him down the hallway, heading up the stairs and towards Eda's bedroom. Once inside her room, she closed the double doors and turned to Maxwell. Maxwell had no idea what was to be expected.

"What are you going to do?" asked Maxwell nervously.

She smiled as she walked towards him and placed her hands on his shoulders. Maxwell looked up at her and felt as though he was being lead to something.

"I may be a lovable bad girl, but I do know when to soften up every once in a while. I've done the same for Luz and King, and I will do the same for you." Eda explained. "Relax and focus on me, don't think of anything else, just focus on me."

Maxwell had no idea what she meant but knew better to listen to her as Eda's smile left him curious but he gotten his answer when Eda planted her lips to his in a deep and passionate kiss. Maxwell felt his heart racing as he closed his eyes and felt Eda's big and soft lips kissing his own as he felt the need to kiss her back. Eda began to slowly push him towards her nest and she was laying Maxwell down on his back to the nest as she kissed him more as in making out with him while he would softly kiss her back.

She moaned into the kiss as she was feeling her heart racing while her chest pressed against his, both feeling each others hearts pounding faster together. She eventually pulled her soft lips from his in a loud pop. She placed one hand where his heart was located and her other hand on his cheek.

"It's alright, your in good hands." Eda reassured him. "I'm not gonna leave you, or Luz or King. I may be cursed but the elixir will keep it at bay. For now, focus on me. Your heart is hurting but we can heal the pain your feeling."

"I'm grateful." said Maxwell kindly.

"That's my boy." said Eda confidently.

Maxwell was feeling his sleepiness taking over him as he blinked over and over slowly. Eda smiled and saw him fall asleep in her nest and in her arms. She kissed him once more on his cheeks and even kissed is chest where his heart was. She lay there with him as she fell asleep with him. Maxwell felt better but he had something on his mind. He knew that the elixir was going to stop working one day as he knew that it was not working well enough and he knew that he had to do something.

_"I got to free her from this curse."_ thought Maxwell in his head.


	23. Chapter 23

Two days have gone by and Maxwell felt a little better after Eda consoled him. Sleeping with her in the bed she calls a nest felt like a very comforting method to heal some of Maxwell's emotional wounds, but he was feeling like his heart was racing from Eda kissing him the way she did but when he actually kissed her back, he felt that he was left wondering, was he shocked to be kissed by a beautiful witch like Eda or did he like being kissed by her, he was confused but mostly brushed it off so could think clearly. Two days have gone by since that night and during that time Maxwell was talking a little but he was thinking of ways to try and help Eda with her curse. He knew that his vision shown an unknown male and Lilith.

Maxwell knew this wasn't going to be easy. She knew that Eda and Lilith don't get along from how Eda talks about Lilith and from what he remembers on how Lilith talks about Eda. As he was thinking, both him, King and Luz were out in the town of Bonesborough as they had been selling potions through the town again to Eda's clients. They gotten done in record time but walked down the market place.

"Hey Luz, you feeling alright?" asked King curiously.

"Yeah, just the last client seemed to kind of baby us a bit." said Luz blushing.

"She did do that a bit, but the belly rub I got from her felt so good and I like it." giggled King. "I'm surprised Maxie wasn't distracted by her, she had some huge boobies and big fanny and them lips of hers, she could smother your cheeks with them if she smooches you."

King was laughing as he made such jokes while Luz blushed and carried King and tickled his belly briefly to get his mind off such jokes which he didn't mind. Maxwell blushed at the jokes and remembered the last client was hugging and kissing them which was surprised he only fainted once, even though Luz and King helped calm him afterwards.

"Hey Maxie, need to use the boys room?" asked Luz.

Luz and King saw that Maxwell didn't respond, he was silent, he was thinking when all he could think of was Eda and how to help her with her curse. His feelings were like being on a rollercoaster at times.

"Hey Maxie?" said Luz trying to get his attention.

Maxwell still didn't respond and they stopped, even King noticed this and was starting to worry.

"Hey Maxie, want a bit of sugar?" said King trying to grab his attention.

Maxwell ignored them as he kept thinking harder about what to do to help Eda but both Luz and King seem to wonder if he was listening to them or not.

"Maxie, hello, anybody home?" asked Luz trying again.

King suddenly gotten an idea to grab Maxwell's attention but it left him trying to fight the urge to laugh. He motioned Luz to get her attention.

"Hey Luz, maybe this will get his attention." said King giggling. "Maxie, Eda's coming to kiss you on the lips."

"Wait what?" said Maxwell finally responding while blushing.

"Hey it worked." laughed King. "Maxie likes Eda. Maxie and Eda, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Drop it!" said Maxwell firmly in a deep and somewhat demonic voice.

They went silent faster than King stopped laughing and teasing. Maxwell was blushing and was a little surprised at his brief outburst. He hung his head in shame.

"I'm sorry guys. My mind has just been on a thing or two lately." said Maxwell feeling guilty.

"Would you feel better talking about it? When King mentioned Eda, you finally responded when all other attempts failed." suggested Luz.

Maxwell shook his head and they knew that something was on his mind but he didn't want to tell them.

"Makes me wonder if he's thinking about the girl he said he's fallen in love with." King said.

They all went wide eyed and were silent. King just realized that he blurted out what Maxwell begged him to keep a secret and he placed his hand on his head, shaking his head.

"Wait, Maxie's in love?" asked Luz not sure if she heard this right.

"It's nothing." Maxwell and King said in denial.

"Did you two have a secret?" said Luz giggling.

King and Maxwell let out a sigh and knew that the secret was out. King gave Maxwell an apologetic expression which Maxwell understood it was an accident. Luz smiled and blushed, looking giddy.

"Awwww, so our Maxie waxie is in love and begged King not to tell." Luz playfully commented. "So that's what you meant by you talked about guy stuff."

"For the record, he didn't tell me who." King stated.

Luz looked right at Maxwell with a playful expression which Maxwell looked down at his feet. He knew that Luz being the sweet, energetic, lovable girl she is that she would be unable to resist in wanting to assist somehow.

"Whose the lucky girl?" said Luz giddily.

"I don't want to say." said Maxwell nervously.

"Oh? Why not?" asked Luz playfully.

"I want to figure this out on my own, please Luz. This is embarrassing." whined Maxwell.

King managed to slip out of Luz's grip and stood on his feet on the ground while Luz placed her hand on Maxwell's left shoulder as if to ease the feeling.

"Maxie, it's normal to be in love. It's nothing to be embarrassed about." Luz kindly reassured him.

"Have you ever fell in love?" asked Maxwell curiously.

"Well, technically no. But I understand it's a rollercoaster ride of emotions." Luz told him.

Maxwell could tell that Luz understood how he felt but he felt a bit better knowing that Luz was showing her emotional support towards him in his feelings and his position.

"Maxie, do you need help with this? There's no shame is asking for help." suggested Luz.

"I want to figure this out on my own. If I run out of options, than I'll come to you and King. But don't tell anyone, and please don't tell Eda. I'd rather not bother her with this since she's got enough on her mind already." stated Maxwell.

Luz nodded and understood, pulling Maxwell in for a hug to reassure him which he felt better in this. He always felt better when Luz comforts him. She released her arms from him and Maxwell got an idea in mind.

"This might be off topic but where's Morton?" asked Maxwell curiously.

"You mean the guy where Eda gets her elixir from? He's over there." answered King pointing.

Maxwell turned to see what looked like a small little pharmacy shop as he saw what looked like a man over there. A man with medium length brown hair and wore a brown colored uniform, he looked young and he suddenly delved into his mind and found out who he is and that he knows Eda. He found out where Eda gets her elixir from. Maxwell knew what he had to do.

"King, watch out for Luz or at least you two sit down on that bench over there. There's something I got to do." instructed Maxwell.

The young male human walked towards the little pharmacy shop as Luz and King walked towards the bench.

"Maxie, what are you doing?" asked Luz curiously.

"Gonna give Morton a hand, it'll be a minute." lied Maxwell.

Luz and King wondered what he was doing but they figured it might involve heavy lifting which they figured a strong guy like Maxwell should handle it. But they kept a watchful eye on him as they were keeping close by him. Maxwell was now at the window of the pharmacy.

"Morton, you in there?" asked Maxwell calling to him.

The thin male that he called for appeared and he came to Maxwell. He appeared to have been getting done with stocking everything inside his little shop.

"Yes, and anything I can do to help?" asked Morton kindly.

Maxwell looked around and looked back at Morton as if he was making sure no one could hear them.

"I take it your one of them kids with Eda?" stated Morton.

_"Yes, but try not to look suspicious, pretend your just doing business like usual."_ said Maxwell talking to him Morton through his mind.

Morton nodded as he responded and did as such.

_"Morton, I need a disguise potion."_ Maxwell told him from his mind.

"What for?" asked Morton silently.

_"Someone I know needs help but the she might not be so willing to accept my help because lets just say she is not wanting me to worry or doesn't want me to get in trouble. I beg of you, please. Someone I know needs help but I got an idea on how I can do that. But I need the said potion to do it. What I'm going to do is probably going to be risky, even if it's kind of scary. Understand?"_ explained Maxwell through his mind.

Morton looked around and back at Maxwell. He nodded and walked off for a minute and came back with a small vial that had purple liquid in it. Maxwell pulled out a small bag that had money in there as he gave it to Morton.

_"Don't let anyone know that I got this from you. Because I don't want to put you at risk and I don't want to put you in harms way. Your a really nice guy and it would kill me if you got hurt."_ Maxwell kindly told him through his mind.

Morton nodded and he took the small bag of money which Maxwell took the vial and placed it in his pocket.

_"Morton, if anyone asks, you were just giving someone a potion for someone who had a stomach ache."_ Maxwell told him as he kept communicating with him through his mind.

"Understood." said Morton out loud. "Wait."

Maxwell listened to him as he knew Morton wanted to ask him something.

"Your doing something to help Eda, are you?" asked Morton in a hushed tone.

Maxwell nodded and Morton knew there had to be a reason.

"Is it okay if you tell me?" asked Morton kindly.

_"The elixir Eda's using. I'm afraid that it's not working well enough like it used to, it's getting worse and I'm scared. I want to help her. I want to do something to help her with her curse. Be it freeing her of the curse forever or finding a potion that is stronger and can keep the curse at bay for a bit longer just to by her some time. I can't lose Eda, she's all I have along with Luz and King. I got to do something."_ Maxwell told Morton through his mind.

Morton could tell from the look on Maxwell's face that he was desperate from the look of depression on Maxwell's face. Morton could tell that Maxwell really loves Eda. He looked around with his eyes and looked back at Maxwell.

"I know someone who can help but it's going to be risky and it may take some time. There's someone that works at the night time market, he's sort of like a double agent but he's neutral. He's managed to keep his identity a secret to the Emperor and his coven since he's helped them before but he really helped to foil their plans without them knowing it's him. But it'll take some time to wait since he only works in the night time market once every month and he'll be there in two weeks from now." Morton told him.

The look on Maxwell's face was going from depression to alarm but Morton understood he would feel this way.

"I know what your thinking, but don't worry, this guy is legit and I know you'll have to wait but it's alright. He'll help you." Morton told him in a hushed tone.

Maxwell knew that he had no other choice and knew that Eda's elixir may be working well now but even if it eventually doesn't work well enough, he knew that he'll have to wait till than. He let out a sigh.

_"Okay, but tell no one of this."_ Maxwell warned him through his mind.

Maxwell leaned forwards and wrapped his arm around Morton as if giving him a one armed hug. Morton felt as though this was a bit odd but he sensed this was Maxwell's way of showing affection or compassion and he understood.

"Take care of yourself." Maxwell whispered in Morton's ear.

Maxwell removed his arm from him and walked off, not before winking and smiling at Morton. Morton nodded as a response and went back to his duties. Maxwell walked over towards the bench where Luz and King sat.

"How'd it go?" asked Luz curiously.

"It went well. I gave him hand and he's glad I did." Maxwell lied. "Good ole Morton."

Luz and King got up and Luz carried King as the three walked off and headed back to the owl house. Luz looked back at Maxwell.

"Maxie, I know you want to figure this out on your own about who you are in love with but just so you know, we're here for you." said Luz kindly.

She hugged Maxwell with one arm, he blushed but he felt comforted by this. Maxwell seemed to have an idea, no, a plan in mind. But what was it? The only thing on his mind was Eda and how to help her with her curse. What he had in mind was probably dangerous. Maybe his sense of love was bigger than his sense of fear and shyness.

_"One step closer to helping Eda. But if she finds out what I'm about to do, she'll probably kill me."_ Maxwell said in his head.


	24. Chapter 24

Four days passed and Maxwell kept his little plan a secret. He wouldn't mention it out loud ether. He was at the owl house and both Willow and Gus were visiting as they were hanging out with Luz and Maxwell.

"Luz, do you think Eda's alright with us here?" asked Willow a bit nervous.

"Last time we were here, that conjuring did make her irate." said Gus remembering.

Luz was about to answer but Eda walked into the room as she apparently heard their conversation.

"I may not have liked the fact that you three animated my house but that conjuring was totally a cool sight to see. But I've calmed down from the situation." Eda explained.

Willow and Gus let out a sigh of relief when they heard about it.

"Where's Maxie?" asked Willow curiously.

"We just got done with some chores around the house and Maxie is getting done with what he was told to do." answered Luz.

"Maxie's quite a strong boy in the body. He actually did the heavy lifting around here before and wow, he's got the strength of a hulk." stated Eda. "By the way, you two academy kids, you two are at least nice to Maxie as you are with Luz?"

Eda was giving Willow and Gus a warning look as she crossed her arms. Willow and Gus knew that she wouldn't feel pleased if they were picking on Luz or Maxwell. They nodded.

"We're nice to him like we are with Luz." answered Gus with a gulp.

"He's a little shy yet I think he just needs hugs from his friends." stated Willow.

Eda uncrossed her arms and let out a sigh of relief.

"That's good to hear. Even though I enrolled Luz at that crazy school after that principle dweebus lifted the ban on Luz and she'll be attending that school once the next semester starts, I don't want anyone hurting Luz while she's there. So you three can look out for each other when she's there, understand?" Eda explained with a warning.

Luz felt as though Eda's mama bear instinct was kicking in as she expressed her worry for her and as Eda walked over towards Luz, she smiled as she placed her hand on Luz shoulder.

"Try to teach those dweebs a little bit of that bad girl magic." Eda encouraged Luz.

Eda gave her a wink and smile as she placed her hand on Luz's cheek and used her other hand to briefly tickle Luz's belly, causing her to giggle and twitch.

"That tickles." giggled Luz.

"I always knew kids are vulnerable to tickling." giggled Eda.

"Does Maxie know about Luz going to Hexside once the next semester starts?" asked Gus curiously.

"What do I know about?" came Maxwell's voice.

They all turned to see Maxwell entering the room, he was using a small towel to wipe his face and neck as if he finished an intense work out.

"Oh, he doesn't know, does he?" said Luz.

"What don't I know?" asked Maxwell looking confused.

"Should we tell him?" suggested Eda.

Maxwell didn't really know what they were talking about. He could read their minds and find out but he didn't feel the need to do that.

"Maxie, you know that dweebus factory they call Hexside? Well, Luz ban for a full pardon and I enrolled her there. Sure, I want to teach her magic but I felt as though I might not always have the time to do so. So I enrolled her so she can learn magic there, but I still will teach her what I know as well. Yet it wasn't easy since I had to make up for some of my crazy antics when I went to that place. So Luz will be attending there once the next semester starts." explained Eda.

Maxwell stared at them as if shocked. He was in disbelief and dropped the towel he had in his hands, it flopped to the floor. An overwhelming feeling of sadness came over him. They all looked at him as if worried.

"Is he alright?" said Gus worried.

"Maybe this is a shock for him." guessed Willow.

Maxwell's face turned to Luz and towards Eda. He felt the need to cry but tried to choke that feeling down.

"Maxie, you alright? Say something." said King.

Maxwell hung his head and walked towards the door. He was walking off as he left the room and opened the door, closing it behind him. They all were left to wonder what was going on since they didn't know if this was bad news or good news.

"Was it something we said?" asked Willow.

"He didn't look happy that Luz was going to Hexside next semester." stated Gus.

"Maybe he's upset because he doesn't want to be separated from Luz?" guessed King.

They all looked at King and looked down at their feet. It seemed as though King guessed the truth.

"Maybe he wants to go school too? We don't know much about how school was for Maxie, he didn't tell us much, other than he went through school way too fast because he was one of them smarter kids who went to a different school for kids like him." Luz explained from what she remembered.

Willow and Gus felt bad for Maxwell but did their best to understand this sort of situation.

"Well, he got banned but now that Luz isn't banned. Maybe he just feels left out." said Willow.

"Well, even if Maxie did go to that dweebus factory, still, I don't like the idea of him going there. Unless that place was on fire, lets get front row seats." said Eda annoyed.

"Eda, wouldn't it be alright if we talked to Maxie about this?" suggested Luz.

"Don't know if talking to him about this would help this time. He barely wants to talk about any of his problems." Eda argued.

"Couldn't we just ask him? If he decides not to go, than we'll drop this subject like a hot potato." Luz argued back.

Eda could see that Luz was arguing about who knows what's best for Maxwell but Eda didn't seem to want an argument to break out. She sighed deeply.

"You guys go talk to him. I need a moment to think this over. But if he says no, this subject is never going to be brought up." Eda instructed.

They nodded and both Luz, Willow and Gus walked towards the door and opened it. They walked outside to find Maxwell pacing back and forth with a depressed look on his face. They could tell that Maxwell was upset.

Eda was sitting on the couch and looked worried. King was in the room with her as if wondering what she'd do about this situation.

"I'm trying to protect Luz and Maxie. Hexside chews up anything unique and spits out bland mush. I may have enrolled Luz because I have faith in her but Maxie. He's sensitive, people have hurt him, both inside and out. People have hurt him till he cried and I don't want anyone hurting Luz or Maxie." said Eda wrestling with what to do.

"I chew insects. I turn them into mush." said Hooty.

"But that's my beef. Does he need to draw his own conclusions like Luz?" Eda said annoyed.

"My beef is insects. They're what I eat." said Hooty.

"This isn't helping." said Eda looking annoyed.

"All I know is, you taught me and I turned out just fine." said Hooty.

Hooty was letting out a few hoots like he was singing a musical tune but was off key. Eda felt horrified on the inside to hearing this.

"I gotta get that boy into school with Luz." said Eda looking wide eyed.

Eda got up and had a talked with King about what they're about to do as she wanted to at least have King informed about this. King showed he understood. Eda and King walked towards the door and walked saw Luz, Willow and Gus in front of Maxwell but he hung his head in sadness with his back facing them. Maxwell shook from the body as it was a sign of him crying. Luz tried to comfort him by placing her hand on his shoulder, he only shook a bit more from shedding a few tears afterwards. Eda and King walked over to them teenagers and stood in front of them once they reached them.

"How's he doing?" asked Eda curiously.

"Not sure. I asked him why he's so upset and he just turned around and told us he didn't want to be seen like this." answered Luz.

"Maxie, what's this about? When we told you that Luz was going to attend Hexside, you looked so depressed. What's bothering you, buddy?" asked King curiously looking worried.

"Maxie, do you actually want to go to Hexside with me?" asked Luz attempting to get Maxwell to talk.

"Yes, no, maybe, a little, possibly. I don't know." said Maxwell sounding confused.

They all could see that he was probably feeling a mixture of emotions and he felt as though he couldn't figure out how to let them out. Luz attempted to get Maxwell to talk about this as if it would be therapeutic if he let out some steam.

"Maxie, when you found I was going to Hexside. How did that make you feel?" asked Luz.

"I...can't." said Maxwell sadly shaking his head.

"What do you mean you can't?" asked Eda not understanding.

"I can't talk about it. No one would understand." Maxwell answered.

"We need you to help us understand." said Eda.

Maxwell clenched his fists and felt like this was bringing up miserable memories. They could see this might be a deep seated issue from how he was reacting.

"It's not fair." Maxwell blurted out.

"What's not fair, buddy?" asked King starting to worry more.

Maxwell fell silent as he felt as though he nearly let a secret slip he lifted his head up.

"I need to be alone." said Maxwell unclenching his fists.

"Maxie, your bottling up your emotions and you need to let them out." Luz told Maxwell.

"I'm not bottling them up." argued Maxwell.

Maxwell turned around to face them and was walking off. Luz tried to grab hold of his hand but he gently brushed it off. Luz never seen him reject any attempts of consoling him from her and she knew that this was a real problem.

"Maxie, we have to talk about this." instructed Luz.

"It doesn't matter. There's nothing that can be done about it." said Maxwell trying hard not to break.

"Maxie, you need to let this out." said Willow.

"There's nothing to talk about. Why would anyone be interested." said Maxwell getting frustrated.

"Maxie, we're interested because we're worried about you and we care about you." said Gus trying to assist.

Maxwell ignored them and just as he was about to reach the door of the house, that's when Eda was losing her patience.

"Maxwell Logan! You stop right there!" Eda said sharply.

Maxwell was now filled with fear and stopped, becoming submissive. Eda stormed over to him and Maxwell turned to see her he shook from fear.

"Don't hurt me!" pleaded Maxwell.

"I'm not going to hurt you. We're trying to help you." Eda said firmly.

"Eda wait, he's a bit sensitive." called Luz.

"He's got nothing to be afraid of. Maxwell Logan, you we can tell you got a problem that's bothering you. Your bottling up your problems and it's not healthy to bottle them up, we're going to sit down and talk about this and we're going to talk about this because the people that care about you want to help you. You've got nothing to be afraid of." Eda said firmly. "Look at me and focus on me."

Maxwell felt so terrified that he shook all over. It seemed as though when Eda put her foot down when issuing authority was when Maxwell became submissive, frightened of suffering Eda's wrath. Luz, King, Willow and Gus came over and Eda placed a hand on Maxwell's chest to reassure him as her expression went from annoyed and intimidating to peaceful and compassionate. Maxwell shed a tear and fought really hard to not break.

"It's alright, Maxie." said Eda softly.

"It's kind of a long story but it's hard to explain." said Maxwell blushing.

"Well, we're all ears. What ever it is, we can help you through it." Luz kindly reassured.

Maxwell looked down and suddenly gotten an idea.

"I could show you." said Maxwell with a gulp.

They all looked a bit confused. How can he show them what he was talking about? Maxwell let out a sigh and wrapped his arms around Eda in a hug. Eda was now clueless at what he was getting at but figured this would lead to something.

"I know a way to show you what happened to me but each one of you is going to have to have your hand placed on me. All will be explained, just trust me." said Maxwell explaining what to do.

Luz was the first to place her hand on Maxwell, placing her hand on his shoulder. King walked over to him and wrapped his arms around his left leg. Willow and Gus came forth and Willow placed her hand on Maxwell's other shoulder, than Gus placed his hand on his back. Eda placed her hands on his shoulders as well. Maxwell closed his eyes and suddenly, they all were very still as their eyes turned completely white and what they saw was like looking into Maxwell's mind. They saw what looked like a lot of memories from Maxwell's mind.

The first memory they saw was what looked like when Maxwell was five and inside his bedroom while it sounded like two people outside his bedroom arguing loudly. Their shadows could be seen from the bottom of the door.

_"He needs to grow up, he's being a baby."_ came a male's voice.

_"He's only five years old. You can't expect him to grow up at that age. He doesn't have any friends."_ argued a female's voice.

This five year old version of Maxwell had shorter hair and was in a pair of blue pajamas. He looked like he was trying to block out the arguing, appearing upset.

_"He's only like that because you keep babying him."_ snapped the male's voice.

_"Showing him love is not babying him. It's unconditional love, something you refuse to show him."_ argued the female's voice.

_"Sometimes he needs tough love."_ argued the male's voice.

_"Like what, spanking him when he doesn't do what you want him to do, yelling at him when he makes a mistake? All you do is yell at him, you don't even tell him you love him, it's because of you, he's terrified to death of you."_ snapped the woman's voice.

Maxwell was walking towards the door and attempted to open the door.

_"He needs to stop being such a wimp."_ argued the male's voice.

_"He's not a wimp. Your a bully to him. How do you think he feels when he's going through such a hard time like this. He's been through enough."_ snapped the female's voice.

_"If you and him don't like the way I do things, maybe you should leave."_ the male's voice snapped.

_"Maybe I should leave, but I'm taking him with me."_ the lady's voice snapped back.

_"And go where?"_ said the male's voice.

_"Anywhere is better than being here with you. Your an abusive, sadistic, horrible man and my baby knows it. I know you've been cheating on me behind my back, you never even tried to apologize to our son. This is the last straw, I'm leaving and I'm taking him with me."_ snapped the lady's voice.

Maxwell opened the door and saw what looked like a man and a woman. The man looked like an older version of Maxwell and the woman had blonde hair like Maxwell. The man struck the lady across the face.

_"Noooo!"_ screamed Maxwell.

Everything faded to black and another memory formed which showed Maxwell around the age of six. He wore a blue T-shirt and jeans and he was with the man that was from the first memory. They were in what appeared to be a car as the male adult was driving. Maxwell looked despondent.

_"But daddy, I don't wanna go to this school for gifted kids. I want to go through school at my own pace like everyone else."_ said Maxwell looking saddened by bad news.

_"Your going and you'll like it. They found out that your much smarter than the rest of them pants wetting dumbasses at the school you go to. The adult the makes the choices, not the child."_ said the man harshly.

_"Mommy would let me go through school at my own pace like everyone else. She'd support my decisions, she'd be proud that I made my own choice."_ argued Maxwell.

_"Your mother may have died from the sickness but I'm the adult in the house and what I say goes. Ether you man up right now or I'm going to pull over and I'll give you something to cry about. You understand me, young man?"_ the male adult said to the point of almost yelling.

This left Maxwell in tears and breaking down as he was looking like an emotional wreck.

_"That's not fair!"_ Maxwell said in tears.

Everything faded to black once more and another memory formed. This time, it showed Maxwell a little older, hair a bit longer and wearing black T-shirt and jeans and at school. Some of the memories showed him getting the best grades at school but another memory showed him getting bullied and teased by a group of burly looking male students who were older and bigger than him. Maxwell tried to jump for what looked like his hat as they were playing keep away with it at his expense.

_"Come on, guys. Give me back my hat."_ begged Maxwell.

_"Try jumping higher, you dumb redneck. Billy Ray Cyrus could do it."_ teased one of the males.

One of them tossed the hat towards another and Maxwell tried to get his hat back but the larger male caught it before he could get it.

_"Give it, come on."_ whined Maxwell.

_"Stopped talking funny and maybe I will."_ teased another male.

_"Please give me my hat back."_ said Maxwell sounding annoyed.

The male dropped the hat and Maxwell finally caught it but one of them grabbed his backpack and he turned to see one of them pulling the zippers down.

_"Keep out of my bag."_ Maxwell snapped.

_"Why don't you go back to the south and listen to Blake Shelton like the rest of you dumb hicks."_ said the male maliciously.

He turned his backpack upside down and all the contents in his bag fell out. Papers and a book or two falling out on the floor as he dropped the bag. Maxwell tried to pick everything up but one of them large males slapped Maxwell across his face as the group of bullies walked away, high fiving one another.

_"Maxwell the dumb country bumpkin."_ they teased as they walked off.

Maxwell was suddenly bursting into tears silently. Many other memories showed him being bullied and teased by random kids. Many of them making fun of him for being a southerner, playing keep away with one of his belongings, sometimes one of them even beat him up. Everything faded to black and another few bits of random memories showed. One of them showed him being around the age of ten with his hair down to his neck and wearing a green shirt and jeans and was being berated by the man that was from his first memory.

_"You screwed up again, huh? Why am I not surprised."_ the man scolded.

_"But I'm doing my best, dad. One letter grade is not bad, they told me themselves."_ said Maxwell trying to appease him.

_"Mistakes are for losers and bums on the streets. Do you want to be on the streets like a bum?"_ said them man almost yelling.

_"No but..."_ Maxwell tried in vain to argue.

_"Than stop fucking up in there. The day you stop screwing around is the day you pig out like a disgusting porker feasting on pies."_ the man berated.

Maxwell looked as though he got offended and was showing a bit of anger.

_"But you never let me have any sweets. I've been trying my best at school but your just making it so hard with all this pressure you put on me."_ Maxwell snapped.

The man growled and slapped Maxwell across the face. This left Maxwell starting to tear up.

_"You know crying won't help. Crying is for thumb sucking babies."_ the man yelled.

_"I'm not a baby, your a bully."_ snapped Maxwell.

The man was enraged and grabbed hold of Maxwell's shirt and growled in anger.

_"You've crossed the line, young man. Maybe a good punishment will make you behave."_ said the man threateningly.

The man was dragging him to another room of the house and Maxwell tried to get out of his grip but than a door closed and his screams of pain were heard as it sounded like a hand was punching and slapping against someone's face.

_"Ow, ahhhh, stop it. Your hurting me!"_ cried Maxwell.

_"You've been a bad little boy and now you must pay."_ shouted the man.

The memory faded and everything went to black and another memory formed as it showed Maxwell at the age he is now. He looked as though he packed up his bag and was sneaking out of the house he lived in from climbing out the window and he was running from the house. Shouting was coming from the window he came out of.

_"Trying to escape, are we? That's it, I've had it! When I get my hands on you, I got a baseball bat with your name on it. You can't escape me!"_ shouted the man.

_"Leave me alone, you bastard!"_ Maxwell shouted.

Maxwell was running down a neighborhood street and was looking like he was really fast and good at evading people as he went down one street, than another, going down one neighborhood and another. He must have reached the next town on foot and stopped at a local bus stop. He panted trying to catch his breath.

_"Got to...hide...got to...get as far...away as possible."_ panted Maxwell. _"Where's an officer...when you need one."_

Maxwell had caught his breath but was waiting for the bus as if hoping to get as far away from this man as possible. He was about to reach for something in his bag but a brown owl swooped down and grabbed hold of his bag and flew off with it as it was surprisingly strong.

_"Hey, come back here. If your hungry, I could at least give you some almonds from my candy bars."_ called Maxwell.

Maxwell ran towards the owl but it lead him to an old and very run down house. He saw there was very little light in the house but a door folded out and it provided some light. He saw the owl go through the portal as he chased after the owl.

_"Give me back my bag!"_ Maxwell demanded.

He went through the portal and he was in what looked like a tented hut and he saw the owl with his bag but it dropped the bag on a table outside it. He followed it and saw a table at a local stand at the market place, he looked around and saw no one tending to it and he didn't see the owl anywhere. He went to the table and grabbed his bag.

_"Lord forgive me."_ said Maxwell hopefully.

He ran off and looked to see if he could find someone who could help him but got lost in the process. The memory faded to black and after everything faded to black. Everyone's vision came back clear as day and removed their hands and arms from Maxwell while they all had shocked looks on their faces from everything they just saw. Now they knew how Maxwell got to the Boiling Isles and why he's there in the first place.


	25. Chapter 25

The shocked expressions on their faces from what they saw in the miserable memories of Maxwell's mind that showed what his past was like. The constant fighting that his parents went through with his father being too brutal while his mother tried to be a good mother and get through to his father in showing him compassion.

The tragic passing of his mother when he was young and the fact that his own father was boy verbally and physically abusive towards him while his father's domineering behavior wasn't easy on him. The fact that Maxwell's father put a lot of pressure on him on every aspect of his life, constantly yelling at him for any mistake he made, making every choice and decision for him when it wasn't something he wanted but it was what his father wanted for him, everytime he tried to defend himself and speak up, his father's abusive nature only got worse, being bullied, teased and made fun of for being a southerner.

The reason why he's at the Boiling Isles was because he appeared there the same way and same reason Luz was there but he was worse off. He never got to be a kid or have any fun like other kids. He was hurt as a child and he failed to stand up to his father and failed to stand up for himself against anyone back at home. The fact that his own father was going to possibly murder him if he sees him again. Now they knew why when they first met him, he was such a shy individual who hardly had any confidence in himself.

His own father never supporting him and he never got to make any choices for himself and he never got to experience the joys of being a kid. This was something that made him an easy target, which explains why Principle Bump was so harsh on him, why Lilith nearly violated him but was disgusted by the fact Eda's sister had lustful feelings towards Maxwell while having the nerve to blame Maxwell, even trying to cover her tracks and use his power for personal gain or even why that demonic clown was out to get him. So many people hurt poor Maxwell.

Maxwell looked at his feet while Eda, Luz, Willow, Gus and King were looking on towards him in worry. Luz came up to him and pulled him in a hug in attempt to console him.

"Maxie, we had no idea." said Luz.

"This is why I didn't want to talk about it or why I've said so little about it. I didn't want anyone to see me at my worst since I knew everyone here has enough on their mind without any other problems piling onto them like carrying a heavy boulder on their back." explained Maxwell sadly.

"Maxie, you'd never burden us. This whole time you've been a good kid." said King kindly.

Eda was not sure what to say or do at first. She now felt like Maxwell needs to be protected now more than ever like Luz but at the same time, she wanted to encourage Maxwell. She knew that she didn't have it easy nor did Luz. But knowing how worse off Maxwell was left her longing to help him.

"Maxie, we're sorry that you had such a hard time but is there also another reason why you felt so upset that Luz is going to Hexside?" asked Eda curiously.

Maxwell leaned his head onto Luz's shoulder and let out a sigh.

"Is it because you'd miss Luz?" asked Eda.

"I don't want her to leave me." said Maxwell sadly.

"Maxie, you know I'd never leave you. I wouldn't do that to you." Luz said reassuring him.

"Maxie, would you feel better if you went to school with Luz?" asked Gus.

Maxwell took a minute to think of this and knew that if he was apart from Luz, he'd be depressed, if he was at school with Luz, he'd feel better but at the same time, he didn't want to disappoint Eda.

"I thought about it wanting to go back to school once. Going to school and being around other kids my age." said Maxwell.

"You miss that feeling, don't you?" said Luz.

He nodded and placed his arms around Luz to hug her back as if not wanting Luz to leave him. Luz felt something thrilling to hear about this. If Maxwell went to Hexside with her, than the more friends going with her, the better.

"But there's also another reason." stated Maxwell.

They all looked towards him and were curious to what this other reason was.

"What's the other reason?" asked Eda.

"This power that's in me. I see that it's very strong and powerful like Eda when she's at her best in using her magic. But I'm sensing it's out of control, many times I've been hesitant to use it but I only used it when I had to. I'm afraid I might hurt someone if I can't control it." explained Maxwell.

They remembered the time he used this power he possesses and knew that he only used it to ether defend himself or to defend someone or only when he had to use it. That explained the reasons why he only used it when he had to.

"Maxie, it's alright to be afraid. There have been times when I was afraid and I'm turning out alright." said Luz with a word of comfort.

"You seem to look like you had control over it." stated Eda.

"That was for a different reason." said Maxwell.

"What was the reason?" asked Willow.

Maxwell fell silent and let out a sigh once again as he found this was going to be like breaking more news to them like a doctor telling a woman she's pregnant with her first child.

"Anyone who tried to hurt my friends, especially when someone is going to harm a lady. I can't stand someone who does that sort of thing. That, and it was usually for self defense or when I got tired of someone hurting me." Maxwell revealed.

They all seem to understand this feeling. Maxwell has shown times when he was done taking someone abuse and went on a warpath towards those who hurt him. But that was also because of the encouragement coming from Eda.

"That explains why you socked it to Lilith when she was about to knock me down. Which was totally epic." Eda said with a grin.

Maxwell agreed with a nod and Eda seem to understand he felt the same way, even if he wasn't going to brag about it.

"Maxie, are you afraid that if you go to Hexside, you'll be bullied again?" asked Eda.

He nodded once again.

"I don't want to go through that again but being away from Luz sort of hurts more." stated Maxwell.

"Well Maxie, you wouldn't be alone this time. I'd be there with you, so will Gus, Willow and even Amity. If anyone hurts you, we'll be there for you and we can help you." Luz said with another word of comfort. "Even Eda would help you if someone was bullying you."

Hearing this not only gave Maxwell a reassuring feeling but he also felt as though one last thing was holding him back. Eda was surprised to hear this as she knew she would protect Luz, King and Maxwell if anyone were to hurt them.

"But wouldn't me going there be up to Eda? I actually wanted to learn how to control this power by learning it from her originally, but..." Maxwell paused.

"But what?" asked Eda.

Eda felt admired that Maxwell wanted to learn from Eda and learn to control this power from her but she could sense that he was afraid to tell her what was about to be said next. Maxwell was a little hesitant to say more but knew he had to tell them.

"But I'm afraid of hurting Eda's feelings if I go to Hexside to learn how to control this power. I don't want to her think I opted out for Hexside. I can't do that if it hurts her. Which is why I'd rather let this be up to Eda, if she says yes or if she says no, than I'll understand." Maxwell stated kindly.

Maxwell didn't look up at Eda nor did he look towards her. Eda hearing this had her feeling as though Maxwell was giving her the power to choose for him, was this out of respect for Eda or was it because he felt he could never disobey Eda? Eda may not have looked like it but she felt touched by Maxwell's words in giving her power of choice for him. She knew that if she said no, than Maxwell would be saddened, but if she said yes, she knew that she would worry for both Maxwell's safety and for Luz safety. She didn't want to see Maxwell unhappy and miserable which she had formulated an option. She got closer to Maxwell to face both Maxwell and Luz. This was when Luz released her arms from Maxwell and he released his arms from her.

"Maxie, we can tell your afraid of what could happen from everything you've shown us and told us. If you'd miss Luz as she would go to Hexside and you want to control this power so you don't hurt anyone yet you don't want to be bullied again." stated Eda. "You know that you, Luz and King are under my protection and I'm responsible for you all. But I also don't want any of you to be unhappy and I think it's admirable of you that you don't want to hurt my feelings if you were to go to Hexside."

Maxwell was hanging onto Eda's every word as he felt a bit nervous but hopeful at the same time about what Eda's choice would be for him.

"But just so you know, you wouldn't be hurting me if you were to go that dweebus factory. But I guess what would hurt more is seeing you unhappy. If you really want to go to be with Luz and get better control over this power, than I guess I can let go of my pride and let you explore more of the world." Eda said telling them the news.

Maxwell looked up at Eda and he felt that he was overjoyed as he happily rushed over to Eda and hugged her. This surprised Eda a bit but she was somewhat expecting him to hug her from his overjoyed relief.

"Oh thank you, Eda. I've never known anyone as kind as you." said Maxwell sounding happy.

"Just so you know, while you go there. You, Luz and Luz's friends will look out for each other. If anyone is bullying you or Luz, you should help each other, or come to me and I can do something about it. I still want to protect you and Luz as I protect King. You understand, right?" Eda stated.

"You got it!" said Luz, Willow and Gus in unison.

"Haría cualquier cosa por ti." said Maxwell happily.

"Translation Luz?" asked Eda.

"He said he'd do anything for you." Luz translated.

Eda felt a sense of pride hearing this as she patted Maxwell on his head. Luz came over to hug Maxwell, so did Willow, Gus and King. Maxwell felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders knowing that he was going to have Eda enroll him in Hexside. Luz felt happy that Maxwell will be going with her as Willow and Gus felt the same. Maxwell's heart was beating fast for someone and it seemed as though his heart was beating faster for Eda.


	26. Chapter 26

Three days went by and Eda, King, Luz, Willow and Gus were taking Maxwell towards Hexside as a day or two ago, both Eda, King, Luz and Maxwell talked it over with each other about Maxwell being enrolled at Hexside and the idea of him attending that school. Maxwell did state that he still wants to learn from Eda as much as he could, be it learning magic from her or learning how to control the power he possesses which he also state that he still didn't want Eda to feel hurt if he goes to Hexside to learn how to control his power as he really, really, really hoped that this wouldn't hurt her which Eda stated to him that he wouldn't be hurting her if he goes to Hexside for the reasons stated, but she did state to him that she felt admired that he was trying not to hurt her feelings which caused him to feel better.

They walked towards Hexside as they went down the same trail that Luz, King, Maxwell, Willow and Gus took when they went to get Maxwell's bag the first time they took him there.

"So you attended Hexside at some point in your life?" asked Maxwell.

"Yes I did, but I didn't finish school since they force you to learn magic the "proper" way. But magic isn't proper. It's wild and unpredictable. And that's why it's so beautiful. I learned to do every form of magic and that's why I'm the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles." said Eda with a grin.

Maxwell was a bit surprised to know that Eda dropped out of school but he sensed she had her reasons. He was aware that back at home, many people dropped out of school for many reasons but knew they were not always good reasons.

"Didn't ever want to go back to school?" asked Maxwell kindly.

"Nope, don't have to. As I've said, I know every form of magic and I can do any and all sorts of magic." answered Eda.

"Than I understand you have you reasons for what you do and it's none of my business. I understand it's none of my business." Maxwell said blushing.

Eda smiled and patted Maxwell's head affectionately as if liking the idea that he listens and obeys her.

"That's my boy." said Eda proudly. "And none of you tell anyone that I didn't finish school or I can turn this trip around."

"Yes ma'am!" the kids said.

"Maybe Maxie will be the popular guy and get all the hot girls. Smoochie smooch." teased King giggling.

King was laughing at his own joke while Maxwell blushed deeply.

"But I don't want just any girl. I only want the right girl." said Maxwell with a hiccup.

"Oh you two." said Luz giggling.

They made it to the bushes that were near the school and they saw plenty of students hanging around the school while some were ether inside or outside the school. Maxwell could see there's a lot of people there, students mostly.

"Lets do this." said Eda confidently.

They were about to walk out there but they stopped as they looked back at Maxwell, seeing he was blushing, fidgeting his fingers a bit and looking nervous.

"Something wrong. Maxie?" asked Luz.

Maxwell lets out a gulp, a hiccup and a nervous laugh. They could see this meant he might be nervous.

"What if I can't do this? What if Principle Bump says no?" said Maxwell nearly too nervous to continue.

"Your afraid, are you?" asked Willow curiously.

He nodded and blushed deeper. They could tell because of his shyness, he's afraid to go forwards and try to get enrolled. They knew he was possibly afraid of the principle, or afraid of getting rejected since he didn't hit off with the principle at first. Willow walked towards him and placed her hand on Maxwell's chest.

"Maxie, it's alright to be afraid. But you shouldn't let fear stop you from doing what you want to do." Willow kindly advised.

"She's right about that, Maxie. We can understand you're afraid. Your afraid of ether being yelled at, rejected, or afraid you'll go through the pain you felt in the past again, but those people who hurt you in the past can't hurt you no more. You have us to help you, even when your afraid." Luz said trying to comfort him.

"But I'm not as confident as you guys. The most confident person here is Eda and she not afraid of anything." said Maxwell nervously.

Realizing what he just said made Maxwell go silent. Eda knew that Maxwell believes she's a lady without fear but she knew he was technically wrong.

"Maxie, there are times when I'm rarely afraid of something. I'm not saying what I fear since as you said, a personal thing to me is my business. But there are times when I'm afraid you, Luz or King could get hurt when someone threatens three of you." said Eda attempting to inject some courage into him. "And Luz's friends know never to tell anyone I admitted I have times when I afraid."

Willow and Gus looked at Eda and nodded as they knew better not to anger her. Luz had an idea on how she can hype up Maxwell's confidence. She smiled as she walked towards him.

"Luz, what are you going to do?" asked Maxwell nervously.

"I was just about to say the same thing." said Eda.

"I know something that'll hype his confidence to the point that he'll feel like he's on top of the world." said Luz giggling.

She placed her hands on Maxwell's shoulders and gave him a flirtatious look. Maxwell's heart was pounding as he saw Luz lean in and planted her soft lips to his in a deep kiss. The kiss from Luz sent fireworks off in Maxwell's head, causing his heart to pump really fast. They all looked a bit surprised to see this as if they knew Luz had not kissed a boy this way before.

"Whoa!" they all uttered.

Eda smiled as she felt a sense of pride when she saw Luz kiss Maxwell on the lips.

"You go girl." said Eda giggling.

Luz eventually pulled her lips off him in a loud pop which Maxwell blushed as deep as possible. A grin formed on his face as he felt like his shyness was fading off, letting out a happy chuckle.

"Lets go get'em, big boy." said Luz encouraging him.

"Con alegría." said Maxwell.

Luz lead Maxwell out there as Eda, King, Willow and Gus followed. Eda smiled as she walked by Luz and Maxwell's side.

"You managed to inject some confidence in him." said Eda giggling.

"I think I learned that from you." chuckled Luz.

"Yes I did." said Eda confidently.

They walked along the campus grounds and as they walked inside, they walked down the hallway as they made their way around the school. Eda remembered where the principle's office was and knew that it might be some time before they reached the place. Maxwell saw the school bell on the wall and it had a mouth with fangs.

"Does the school bell always have a mouth on it, literally?" asked Maxwell.

"That it does. But don't worry, it doesn't bite people." said Gus.

"Doesn't it eat? Every mouth has to eat." said Maxwell.

"They don't eat. They don't have to feed like people, but sometimes someone gives them something to eat, even though they don't have to eat to survive." explained Willow.

Maxwell felt like an idea came to his mind as they saw him walk towards the wall and he pushed his feet off the floor and jumped up so high that he reached the school bell. They were surprised to see this while Eda looked a bit thrilled. Maxwell was sticking to the wall like a spider that crawls on the walls. He was next to the school bell.

"Hey there, hungry?" he whispered to the bell.

The bell looked towards him, even though it didn't have any eyes and Maxwell pulled out a paper wrapped sandwich and as he unwrapped it, he pulled out what looked like a big sized burger that was probably big as the bell itself.

"Bacon and cheese burger with plenty of bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and double meat patty. That will fill up any stomach." he whispered to the bell.

The bell smiled as it opened it's mouth and Maxwell stuffed the burger into it's mouth which the bell devoured it down. Chewing on it a lot and swallowing it all down, licking it's mouth clean and letting out a loud burp. Both of them smiled.

"That'll give you a good day." chuckled Maxwell.

Maxwell jumped off the wall and landed on his feet near Luz and the rest of them. Some of the other kids saw this and were a bit thrilled but walked off.

"What did you just do?" asked Eda.

"Fed it that bacon and cheese burger I had on me. Figured it could use a treat." said Maxwell.

They walked off as they were surprised at the kindness Maxwell showed towards even the sentient school bell or anyone or anything that was friendly. Luz gently nudged Maxwell's arm as if showing her admiration of Maxwell's kind heart, causing him to blush a bit.

"That jump and landing though, looks like Maxie stuck the landing." said Eda thrilled.

Maxwell blushed a bit deeper from hearing that but as they turned around another corner and went down another hallway. That's when they stopped and looked around with their heads turning.

"We may have taken a wrong turn." said Willow.

"If the principle dweebus isn't in his office or isn't here, than we might have to wait a bit. I know that situation can be a total bummer." Eda informed.

As they stood there, that's when Maxwell saw a teacher that caught his eye. It appeared to be a pinkish red abomination monster carrying a male teacher who wore a purple cowl and cloak, was showing he was balding as he only had green hair on the sides of his head, he wore round, gold tinted glasses. It was the abomination's professor. Maxwell started to walk over to him and just as he did, that's when Eda, King, Luz, Willow and Gus took notice.

"Maxwell wait." advised Willow.

Maxwell seem to not hear her as he made his way towards the professor as if he knew him. He was standing in front of him when the abomination monster had it's back towards him.

"Sir." said Maxwell addressing him.

The abomination monster carrying him turned around and the abomination's professor faced Maxwell. Maxwell seem to show he remembered him but he felt his shyness rising a bit. The professor looked as though he met him before as he showed a kind expression.

"Oh, your that lost little boy from before. Did you happen to lose your way?" said the professor kindly.

Maxwell tried to say something but no words and no sound came from his mouth. He only blushed and felt at a loss for words. The professor noticed his round ears.

"I take it your the male human that Principle Bump had fumed about. Between you and me, I think he was too harsh on you." said the professor showing compassion. "Do you know where your parents are at? I don't mind helping a lost child when they need it."

"Professor Abominable, I..." Maxwell began.

"Maxie. wait up." came Luz's voice.

Maxwell turned to see Luz coming to his side as she pulled him in for a hug and released her arms from his body.

"I see you wanted to actually meet one of the professors." said Luz looking relieved to have caught up with him.

The professor was wondering how Maxwell knew his name when he never told him. But he showed an annoyed expression when he saw Luz. That's when the professor looked towards her as he was probably not too thrilled about the abominations incident when she first arrived there.

"Hello professor, sorry about the incident from when we first met. I hope your not too mad about that as I know it caused a big mess." said Luz babbling nervously.

"Luz wait, let me handle this." said Maxwell stopping her.

Luz was surprised to hear this while Maxwell got closer to the professor and he kneeled down on his knee as he took a knee and whispered something into the professor's pointy ear. The professor seem to be listening to him as he whispered into his ear, making his expression change to compassion. Once Maxwell stopped, he got up on his feet and the professor looked towards Luz with an apologetic face.

"Young lady, I would like to apologize. That second time we met and I gave you a cold look when you clearly wanted to clear the air about the incident that happened when you first visited this school. Your friend explained everything to me and I'd like to apologize for how I reacted towards you when we met a second time." said the professor kindly.

"Nothing to worry about, sir. We've all been there." said Luz forgiving him.

The professor felt better knowing that but both him and Luz looked towards Maxwell as he looked towards the professor.

"Professor Archibald T. Abominable. The abominations professor of Hexside, a kind and fair professor yet puts his foot down when he has to. I see there's no hatred in you and you were raised by very good people and I see they did a good job at raising you." said Maxwell.

The professor was a bit surprised yet shocked to hear this. This left him wide eyed.

"How do you know all this?" asked the professor.

"Your mind isn't a closed book. But I saw a lot of fond memories in there." said Maxwell.

He was surprised to hear this but seem to understand that this was out of kindness or a way to get to know him.

"I see the two of you are really kind children. Are you two dating?" said the professor with a grin.

Both Maxwell and Luz blushed and shook their heads.

"No, we're not really dating." said Luz.

"What she said." said Maxwell.

Without warning, Luz took hold of Maxwell's hand and lead the way back.

"Nice seeing you professor and thanks for watching out for friend." called Luz.

The professor understood they had to be somewhere and grinned as he was carried off. Luz and Maxwell made it back to Eda, King, Willow and Gus.

"Maxie, how did you know the abominations professor?" asked Luz curiously.

"He knew the professor?" said Eda looking surprised.

"I had a brief encounter with him when I was first around here which was around when I dropped my bag. I figured he could help me but he seem to recognize I wasn't a student yet he showed compassion since he figured I was a lost child, he offered to help me but than Principle Bump caught me and chased me off." explained Maxwell.

They all looked a bit surprised to hear Maxwell tell them he met the professor before and that the professor took pity on him to help him. Eda was not expecting that at all.

"You never told us that." said Eda surprised.

"It never came up." said Maxwell blushing.

Eda placed her hand on Maxwell's chest which caused him to feel his heart race a bit faster, looking up at Eda.

"I probably should tell you that not all professors are going to be like nice people, same could be said about the teachers from the schools in the human realm, at least that's what Luz told me." warned Eda kindly.

"I was afraid of that." said Maxwell with a hiccup.

"Don't worry Maxie, they just need to get to know you." said Luz with a bit of optimism.

Maxwell seem to feel a bit better hearing Luz tell him that and they walked on to find the principle or his office. They turned down one corner and another but no luck. Willow and Gus did show Maxwell around the school like a tour and he saw plenty of teachers that were teaching their students. This was quite interesting to him.

"Them classes all look interesting. But I forgot that some plants in this world are able to have a mind of their own like someone's hair." said Maxwell looking thrilled.

"Maybe Maxie might like it here." said Willow sounding optimistic.

Eda could hear this and she felt as though she was wrestling with many thoughts going through her mind. She wanted to protect Luz and Maxwell, she knew that Maxwell was a sensitive boy who has been exposed to abuse and bullying in some hostile situations. She knew that Maxwell would want to broaden his horizons and want to go to school, despite how miserable he was back at school in the human realm, she knew that eventually he would want to explore more of this world and she knew that he'd be very sad if he wasn't able to, she wants to protect him like a mother to their child, but she knew that if Maxwell was to desire to go to Hexside, she knew that it wouldn't be fair to stop him and that's why she's doing this for him. They reached the principle's office and stopped.

Maxwell could see that this was it but he did feel a bit nervous in doing this. Eda turned to Maxwell and she could see he was nervous, so did Luz.

"Maxie, you alright?" asked Luz.

"Is it normal to be nervous?" said Maxwell.

Maxwell gulped and let out another hiccup. Eda knew a way to try and inject some courage into Maxwell. She remembered all the times that Maxwell showed rebelliousness. She remembered the time that Maxwell had rocked out to rock and roll and had a beautiful voice, the time he stood up to Lilith in the witches dual, even when Maxwell defended her when Lilith was about to punch her, she giggled to herself when Maxwell did that when he said to Lilith "Mama said knock you out" and gave Lilith a punch. The time he fought against the spider demon that kidnapped him, the time that he was kidnapped by Lilith and how he always showed his sassy side towards her when he knew not to trust Lilith, she even remember how proud she felt when she heard how he caused a huge situation at Hexside when he was trying to get his bag back. She smiled and got an idea to hype up Maxwell.

"Maxie, do you remember all those times you stood up for yourself, showed a sassy side, rebelled against those who hurt you or those who tried to hurt someone you care about?" asked Eda reminding him.

"Yes." said Maxwell remembering.

"What did you feel when you did those things?" asked Eda.

"I felt like a one man army at war. I felt enraged, as if I got tired of being picked on, bullied and got tired of being teased. I felt like I'd do anything to not only stay alive but I also felt like anyone who tried to harm my friends was someone I wanted to fight back against and defend my friends. I felt like you, a fearless rebel." explained Maxwell.

"You want to go to Hexside in order to learn magic to defend the household from enemies like me, Luz and King, right?" said Eda.

"I do." said Maxwell in agreement.

Eda smiled and placed her hands on Maxwell's shoulders as she felt thrilled to hear him say this. Maxwell felt like he was being encouraged and it was working.

"Yeah, that's my boy, way to go, let's beat 'em up." said Eda hyping him up.

"Stick it to them." said Maxwell showing a sign of courage.

"That's my boy. Never back down, don't succumb to your fears and be the fearless rebel you always wanted to be. You know I always got your back like I do with Luz, no matter what decision you make, I support you with them." said Eda encouraging him. "Even though you were afraid at times, you were awesome in that witches dual when you socked it to Lilith, you took on that spider demon without fear, you even stood up Bump big time and made his name a joke. Those times, you became the person you always wanted to be, despite your fears."

Maxwell felt hyped up enough to do this and smiled as he let out a breath.

"I'm ready for this. Lets hope he's in there." said Maxwell.

"That's my big boy." said Eda sounding thrilled.

Eda knocked on the door to the principle's office and they waited for him to answer.

"Maxwell, let me go in there first. If we call you in, than you come in." instructed Eda.

"You got it." said Maxwell.

"You may enter." came the principle's voice.

Eda walked inside the principle's office and closed the door. She saw Principle Bump at the desk he sat at and he looked up at Eda, he was a bit surprised.

"Clawthorne." said Principle Bump.

"Big Rump Bump." Eda joked.

"I still see your the sassy and rebellious girl I remember." said Principle Bump.

"I still see your same old you, well, now I hear someone made your name a joke. But lets forget about that for the time being, I'm here for a reason so lets get serious about this." Eda explained while remembering the joke his name had become.

"That last thing you told me does sound like a good idea. You may sit." instructed Principle Bump.

Eda walked over and sat in the seat that was in front of his desk. She kicked up her feet and rested them on the desk.

"Been quite a while since I've sat here, huh? I gotta admit it's extra weird without you yelling at me for picking fights or stealing." said Eda with a grin.

"I can easily change that." Principle Bump said annoyed.

His hand formed a green energy and Eda was about to be knocked backwards from her seat but for some reason, his magic was stopped and Eda didn't fall, even though the seat she was in was leaned back. It was like an invisible force was doing this and the seat was sat back down on the floor, leaving Eda to carefully be sat down with the seat. Her hair got ruffled but it was fixed by itself like someone invisible was doing this. They were the only two people in the room.

"What the, how did you do that?" asked Principle Bump shocked.

"I'm not doing that, but someone else is." said Eda with a smug grin.

Principle Bump's hand suddenly slapped his other hand like someone was making him do this.

"Whose doing this?" said Principle Bump annoyed.

"Lets just say someone I know believes it's impolite to hit or harm a lady." said Eda.

"What are you doing here, Edalyn?" asked Principle Bump annoyed.

"I want to enroll my other human, Maxwell, at Hexside. And before you get all judgy." Eda began.

"Wait a minute, whose this other human?" asked Principle Bump looking confused.

Principle Bump knew that Luz was going to attend Hexside when the next semester starts but now he hears there's another human that Eda wants to enroll at the school, he wasn't expecting that but he suddenly remembered something.

"Is this other human a male with thick, full and voluminous, long blonde hair with a muscular build? Around the same age as Luz?" Principle Bump described.

"The one and only." answered Eda.

Principle Bump remembered the two encounters he had with Maxwell and he wasn't fond of the second incident when he cursed him out and made his name into a lot of literal butt jokes. But he knew that Eda wouldn't be there if it wasn't important.

"I see, than there is something to be answered for yet I need to at least see him before I make a decision or before I do anything. I didn't get too many very good glimpses of him since he proved to be very fast on his feet." said Principle Bump as he informed her.

Eda placed her feet up on his desk again to relax as she knew that he wanted to have her do something in order to enroll Maxwell there like when she was enrolling Luz.

"To be fair, you scared him and that's why he ran off. He was only trying to look for someone to help him, than you took his bag which obviously belonged to him." said Eda defending Maxwell's actions.

"Professor Abominable did kindly protest to me about how he was just a lost child, scared out of his mind and desperate for someone to help him. Even though I didn't believe it at the time. To be honest, I didn't know what he was doing on the campus at first." explained Principle Bump being honest.

"I heard about the incident when he was her a second time but like I said, to be fair, you took his bag and scared him." Eda reminded.

"Hard for me to admit, you make a point in this argument." said Principle Bump.

He was making his hand glow a green energy again and it was lifting Eda up in the air and she was turned upside down. But once the green energy disappeared, she was about to fall but was stopped mid air as she was turned right side up and safely seated in the seat once again while Principle Bump was left shocked and his hand formed reached to take hold of his own ear and pulled on it as if to cause discomfort.

"Ow, okay, I'll stop it." groaned Principle Bump.

"I told you someone I know doesn't like it when harm comes to me." argued Eda smugly.

Principle Bump felt he regained control of his hand and arm again as the invisible force stopped and let go of him. Eda's hair got fixed up again on it's own.

"Just so you know. I want you to be nice to him, he's had a rough time and he doesn't need anyone making it worse. You harm one hair on his head than I'll make sure you don't have any humans coming to attend here and no one will get to learn anything from humans." threatened Eda.

The look on Principle Bump's face was wide eyed shock. Was Eda really threatening to deny the school in learning anything about humans? When Eda crossed her arms and gave him a warning expression, that's when he knew she wasn't bluffing.

"You wouldn't." said Principle Bump in disbelief.

"Any harm comes to him or Luz, than I will. I don't want anyone hurting my humans." Eda warned as her mama bear instincts kicked in.

Principle Bump let out a cough that was possibly trying to hide a gasp or any signs of fear. He let out a sigh and knew he was fighting a losing battle.

"Bring him in." said Principle Bump.

"Hey Maxie, it's alright to come in." called Eda.

The door to his office opened and Maxwell walked inside while he took one last look at Luz, King, Willow and Gus.

"You guys watch out for Luz." instructed Maxwell.

They nodded and Maxwell shut the door and turned to face Principle Bump with a stoic expression as he walked towards him, he stood in front of the desk.

"I see this is Maxwell." said Principle Bump taking notice.

"I see you nearly tried to harm Eda while she was in here. Don't ever do that again. It's impolite to harm or hit a lady." said Maxwell warning him.

Eda smiled as she knew that Maxwell really didn't like it if a man hit a lady, or if anyone harmed her. She was enjoying herself so far.

"Were you the one who cancelled out my magic when I was using it?" asked Principle Bump.

"Yes, I don't want you hurting Eda, regardless of the reason. Can you at least respect that, please?" said Maxwell kindly.

"He's serious?" said Principle Bump.

"In my neck of the woods where I come from. It's said that an officer and a gentlemen does not strike a lady." said Maxwell kindly.

Principle Bump was seeing he was losing this battle and he could sense that Maxwell's magic or his power for that matter, may be stronger than his own and he was curious to how much stronger but he was hesitant to find out.

"I see, and there must be a reason why you want to enroll him other than for the same reasons you enrolled Luz." said Principle Bump curiously.

"Should we tell him?" said Eda to Maxwell.

Maxwell nodded.

"Simple, I want to learn magic with Luz. When I found out Luz was going to attend here, I felt left out and even though Eda and Luz are worried about how I'll adjust here or anywhere. I don't want to be away from Luz. I want to be with Luz as she attends this school." explained Maxwell.

"Touching, but is there any other reason you want to attend at my school? I can sense there's more to it than this." asked Principle Bump.

Maxwell looked towards Eda and she looked towards him, she nodded as if to let him know he has her permission to tell him. Maxwell looked back at Principle Bump.

"I've acquired a very strong power that I believed was poured into me by a wizard that I've crossed paths with. But I don't know who he is, don't know if he's still alive. All I know is that he's been M.I.A. since the first and last time I saw him. He looked like he was running from something and told me if anyone asks that I didn't see him. He shook my hand and took off. Ever since than, things got weird for me and now I got this power that I possess and it's as powerful as, well, it's probably powerful as Eda. I want to learn how to control it because in all honesty, I'm afraid it will get out of my control and hurt someone. I don't want that, sir. And I can tell neither do you. If you had a power like Eda or me, and if you couldn't control it, wouldn't you want someone to help teach you how to control it?" explained Maxwell trying to appeal to his better nature.

Hearing this from Maxwell had thrown Principle Bump for a loop. He couldn't believe that he was being told this by a human whom he was older than by decades apart. But he was also sensing that Maxwell didn't want to hurt anyone if he was to lose all control of this power he spoke of. He knew that Maxwell made a point in this somewhere.

"I should tell you that even if I was in your position, than I might want to accept help from someone who could teach me how to control such a power. But you do know that Hexside or any school on the Boiling Isles is nothing like the schools in the human realm, or at least that's what I've been told since I know nothing about the human realm, we only have rumors to go on about yet I doubt any of them rumors would be correct. We can only theorize and a theory isn't always correct." explained Principle Bump.

"Lets get to the point. What's it going to take?" said Eda getting impatient.

Principle Bump raised a hand and was about to perform a bit of magic to silence Eda but Maxwell intervened by snapping his fingers and Principle Bump's hands were forced to be placed on the desk as he didn't have control of his hands.

"Sorry to do this Bump but I would like for you to keep your hands where I can see them and keep your hands off Eda. That includes your magic." said Maxwell warning him.

"You really are serious about men not allowed to harm or hit women, are you?" said Principle Bump looking bewildered.

"About as serious as I am about Muhammad Ali giving his opponents the technical knock out in a boxing match." said Maxwell making a statement.

"Who?" said Principle Bump looking clueless.

"Sport that humans play and Muhammad Ali is a human boxer, he was famous for knocking his opponents out in a boxing ring." said Maxwell being more specific.

Principle Bump was understanding half of what Maxwell told him. He knew that humans played their own sports but had no idea who Muhammad Ali was. He regained control of his hands and arms again which he knew that if Maxwell was going to be attending Hexside, than they'd have to work something out. An idea came to mind.

"If your going to be enrolled into Hexside, than I'd have to see a demonstration of such power you speak of." said Principle Bump making an offer.

"Can't do that." said Maxwell.

"Why not?" asked Principle Bump.

"We're in your office and we'd need a big amount of space like a huge field. Your office, not the best place to do it." answered Maxwell.

Eda nearly tried to fight the urge to laugh as she could tell that this was making Principle Bump seem like a fool or that Principle Bump was being in a battle of wits with a human, which the human appeared to be winning.

"Very well, we do have a field on the campus for that. If I like what I see, than we can work something out." Principle Bump told them.

"Understood..." Maxwell began.

Maxwell felt an odd feeling in his body and his eyes were glowing white. Principle Bump noticed this and was looking a bit concerned.

"What's with his eyes?" he asked.

Eda turned to look at Maxwell and saw this as Maxwell suddenly saw a vision of something going on in his mind. He saw a vision of the school he was at and he heard a siren going off while a lot of people were hurrying up to find a place to hide.

_"Attention all students, professors and staff members of Hexside. We're initiating a school lockdown. We have an assailant spotted near the campus, do not panic. Retreat inside the school and do not venture outside the school until lockdown is called off."_ announced a female's voice.

The last image he saw was who the assailant who had pointy ears but looked to be of Romanian descent, long, dark hair, vampire like fangs, wearing a black kimono and appeared to be over forty years of age. He was walking around the campus ground and laughing.

_"Where are the humans?"_ said the man in a deep and gruff male's voice with a Romanian accent.

Everything faded to black as Maxwell's vision was clearing and he was being held in Eda's arms and Luz's arms as they held him up straight on his feet. Principle Bump didn't know what just happened while King looked worried.

"Maxie, what happened?" said Luz.

"What did you see?" said Eda.

The look on Maxwell's face turned to shock and terror as he looked up and appeared he was about to freak out.

"Get everyone inside the school." said Maxwell warning them.

"What's going on?" asked Principle Bump looking confused.

Without warning, a loud alarm was heard as it sounded like an emergency siren that was heard through out the entire school. That's when Principle Bump looked towards Maxwell with alarm.

"That's the school alarm for a school lockdown." said Principle Bump alarmed.

"He's coming for us." said Maxwell in disbelief.


	27. Chapter 27

The alarm was going off at the school and many students were not sure what to do while the teachers inside were getting the kids inside the classrooms, members of the staff were trying to do the same. Eda, Luz, King, Willow, Gus and Maxwell were in Principle Bump's office as this was going on.

"Attention all students, professors and staff members of Hexside. We're initiating a school lockdown. We have an assailant spotted near the campus, do not panic. Retreat inside the school and do not venture outside the school until lockdown is called off." announced a female's voice.

Hearing the announcement didn't make things sound any easier. Principle Bump looked outside the window of his office and saw many students were running to seek shelter, cover or a place to hide. He turned towards Eda, Luz and Maxwell.

"Did he just predict this would happen like a psychic?" said Principle Bump alarmed.

"This is why I want to get this power under control. I don't know if it will one day become out of my control or if I will be able to handle it." said Maxwell worried.

Principle Bump walked towards Maxwell and grabbed him by the front of his shirt.

"You predicted this?" said Principle Bump with a growl.

Eda had a fit of rage and slapped Principle Bump's hands, causing him to let go of Maxwell. She gave him a disapproving look.

"Don't you touch him or Luz." warned Eda.

Principle Bump knew this was not the time for arguing and was seeing that Eda was in her protective mode when someone lays a harmful hand on Maxwell or Luz.

"Where are the humans?" called out the assailant's voice.

They could hear this man's voice from anywhere inside the school. King went to look out the window and he could see the assailant from a distance. He was walking on the campus while plenty of the kids were running towards the school.

"I see him and boy does he look evil." King commented.

"Where are them humans? I know you got two of them in there. I smell they're near. Give them two humans to me and I'll let everyone live." called the assailant.

Luz held onto Eda for protection while Willow and Gus were backed up in a corner of the room. King got away from the window and went towards Eda for the same reason Luz was holding onto her. Eda held onto Luz to try and comfort her.

"He's got to be a vampire of some sort. Their senses are able to tell who they smell and what they're like." said Principle Bump making a guess.

"But don't they turn to dust in the sunlight?" asked Luz.

"Not this one. Some vampires on the Boiling Isles are different. They all don't feed on blood from people anymore. The only ones that would do that are the unevolved vampires but they've been extinct for centuries." explained Principle Bump. "But the ones that don't feed on blood from people no more can still feed on them if they want to but they no longer have the desire. Now they eat food like we do but some feed on a substitute that doesn't require feeding on people."

They heard what sounded like a loud, demonic shriek outside. They could tell the assailant was getting closer to the school. Maxwell was also hanging onto Eda as they held each other for comfort. Eda was worried for both Luz and Maxwell's life.

"What's he gonna do Eda?" said Luz shaking in fear.

"I'm not letting him hurt you, King or Maxie. I'm not letting him hurt any of my own." Eda told them attempting to comfort them.

Maxwell felt his fear rising and knew that this assailant could drain them dry, kill them or worse.

"I might go for the spicy human female." called out the assailant.

Eda felt a sense of rage kick into her. She didn't like the sound of someone hurting anyone that she cares about and knew that this had to stop.

"He's not going to touch her." said Eda growling.

"We have to get everyone inside the school, otherwise we're going to have a tragic accident on our hands." said Principle Bump worried.

"Give me the humans, starting with the girl." called the assailant.

Eda felt her rage kicking into her more as she knew that if anyone hurts Luz, she would go on a warpath. Maxwell had so much on his mind. He knew that if he lost Luz, King, Eda or anyone, he'd never be the same but he remembered how he was surprised and afraid that he met two elderly women that were vampires themselves. He was trying to block fear out of his mind but he couldn't. Who he saw in the vision was much more menacing.

"I got to lock the school down. No one gets in or out." advised Principle Bump.

"Bump, look after these kids. I'm going to take down that parasite." Eda instructed.

"But what about?" Principle Bump began.

Eda turned to give him a very serious and cold look which nearly got him terrified of her for the first time.

"Look after these kids, especially my humans and anyone whose my own. If any harm comes to them, than you answer to me." said Eda warning him sharply.

Principle Bump didn't move nor did he speak. Eda was serious as she left the room by kicking the door to the office opened and with her strength, it flew clean off it's hinges. She was headed outside but Maxwell felt an instinct kicking into him and it was something he probably hasn't felt in who knows when.

"I can't let her take him on by herself." said Maxwell shaking.

"Maxie, she can handle this. Eda's taken on tougher opponents before and so have I." said Luz reassuring him.

Maxwell was feeling his instinct getting stronger. He wanted to help Eda, he also wanted to help Luz, King and his friends. His heart raced from this longing feeling welling up inside him as he looked out the window and saw Eda walking out on the campus grounds.

"I got to do something." said Maxwell.

Maxwell turned to run out of the office and to run towards a hallway that could lead outside. Luz, King, Willow, Gus and even Principle Bump tried to stop him.

"Maxie stop!" called Luz and King.

Seeing Maxwell go to help Eda caused Luz, King, Willow, Gus and even Principle Bump to follow him as if they were going to try and make sure he doesn't get hurt. Eda stood out there on the campus grounds and the assailant stood in front of her from a distance as the kids outside ether took shelter inside or found a place to hide or were cowaring outside against the school's walls. The assailant smiled a toothy grin.

"Eda the owl lady. I've heard of you but didn't know you were babysitting little babies." taunted the male assailant.

"What I'm doing here is none of your business. Why don't you go bite yourself." warned Eda.

The male vampire laughed loudly as if told a joke.

"I smell the humans scent on you. Two of them, you have what I want. Give me the humans and I shall not harm anyone else." he advised.

"That's not gonna happen, buster. They're my humans and no one is hurting them. This is your last warning, leave or I'll make you run with the tail between your legs." warned Eda.

The mail assailant cracked his knuckles, than popped his neck. He got into a fighting stance.

"Have it your way." he said.

The male assailant charged after Eda but she formed fire from her hands and used the fire to blast at him like a cannon but he dodged it. He tried to land a punch of her but she dodged it by doing a flip from the right side, landing on her feet.

"You have to try better than that." taunted Eda.

"We have a stubborn one." said the assailant as he got up.

They both formed fire from their hands and blasted balls of fire at each other but each one kept dodging them which not only got them both mad but Eda was starting to laugh.

"You keep missing." taunted Eda with a laugh.

"Sass mouthing witch." he growled.

They both charged at each other again but Eda teleported and looked like she disappeared. The vampire stopped and kept his guard up but without warning, she would reappear and land a punch or more on him. She would keep on teleporting and reappearing to punch him which was proving difficult for him to keep his eyes on her.

"Hold still!" he yelled.

"What's the matter? Afraid to be beaten by a girl?" laughed Eda.

As this was going on, that's when Maxwell came outside the front entrance of the school and saw Eda and the assailant battling it out. Eda reappeared but this time was when the assailant pushed Eda away from him which got her pushed at least ten feet away.

"I wonder what human blood taste like when it's straight from their necks. Maybe I should drain them and drain you afterwards." said the assailant with a grin.

"Over my dead body!" snapped Eda.

"That can be arranged." threatened the assailant.

Just as soon as he was about to charge after him. He turned to see Maxwell from a distance and he smiled with excitement.

"Well, well, well. Would you look at that. One of them decided to came out and face me." chuckled the male vampire.

Eda turned to see Maxwell and her mama bear instincts were now kicking in.

"Maxwell, get back inside, now!" instructed Eda.

"He's mine." growled the male.

He charged at Maxwell at what looked like super human speed but Eda grabbed hold of his long dark hair to stop him from harming him.

"Don't you touch him!" warned Eda.

The assailant grinned and like a rope, he pulled his head which his hair that Eda hung onto pulled her off the ground and he swung her forward to toss her which she went flying about twenty feet away but she used the heels of her boots to stopped herself. The male charged again towards Maxwell but Eda failed to grab him and just when the male vampire was about to grab Maxwell, that's when Maxwell formed a fist and landed a hard punch towards the vampire's face, knocking him off his feet and sent him flying across the grounds, going passed where Eda stood as he used the black boots he wore to stopped himself from skidding off any further. He looked up and couldn't believe an actual human landed a punch on him. Eda smiled at what she just saw.

"The first human to land a hit on me." said the vampire adjusting his mouth.

"Hurts doesn't it?" teased Eda.

The vampire made a movement so fast that it looked like he teleported. Eda's grin was short lived as she looked around and tried to keep her guard up.

"Come on out!" called Eda.

The vampire finally revealed himself as he moved so fast towards Eda that he grabbed hold of her by the neck with one powerful hand. He raised her up in the air as she struggled to get free. The vampire smiled and bared his sharp fangs.

"Maybe I should start with you." he said with an evil chuckle.

Maxwell felt a huge fit of rage kick into him and he teleported in a gold puff of smoke. That's when Luz, King, Willow, Gus and even Principle Bump showed up at the front entrance. What happened next was without the vampire's warning. Maxwell reappeared and as the vampire turned to see him, he got another punch landed on his face, causing him to be sent several feet away, losing his grip on Eda as she landed on her feet.

"Don't you touch her again!" shouted Maxwell in defiance.

The vampire got up on his feet and saw the angry expression on Maxwell's face. Maxwell was filled with rage for the man laying his hands on Eda with threatening force.

"A southern male human defending a witch. And they say chivalry is dead." the vampire commented.

Eda felt thrilled once again to see Maxwell defend her and show he's got a bit of fight in him. The vampire charged at them and pulled out a large knife which both Eda and Maxwell formed a gold light from their hands to deflect each move that he made to try and slash or stab them with his knife.

"How's about I slash you both so you can die together." the vampire threatened.

"Kiss my ass!" said Maxwell defiantly.

Maxwell saw where the vampire's knife was about to go next and with one swift move of his leg, he kicked the knife out of his hand and it was sent to fall on the ground and slid it's way towards the foot of the school's front entrance stairs.

"You stubborn little monkey." snapped the vampire.

He charged at them so fast that they didn't see what his next move was. He was moving around in a formation of circles around them as if he was as fast as Maxwell's running speed. He kept moving around as if so fast that they had a hard time keeping their eye on him.

"Maxie, why did you come out here?" said Eda.

"He lays one hand on you, Luz, King or anyone else. He's dead as door nail." said Maxwell with a growl.

Eda and Maxwell saw that the vampire moved so fast that he couldn't be seen. But he reappeared and caught the upper hand as he was about to land a punch on Eda but in one quick move was when Maxwell did a heroic act by standing in front of Eda and he took the punch for Eda as the vampire punched him in the face, sending him flying across the grounds by seven feet. He lay there on the ground, struggling to get up.

"He took the punch for her." said one of the kids shocked.

Eda was enraged by the fact that this assailant punched Maxwell but she was touched at the same time that Maxwell took the punch for her. She turned towards the vampire and she got punched and was sent flying towards where Maxwell was but she managed to keep on her feet and stand. She rushed towards Maxwell and helped him up on his feet.

"Maxie, are you alright?" said Eda looking frantic.

"He's not allowed to touch you. So I took the blow for you." said Maxwell rubbing his face.

Eda was feeling as though that Maxwell was doing this not just to help her but to prove something. What was he trying to prove was what she wondered.

"Get away from my school and the kids!" shouted Principle Bump.

"And what are any of you going to do about it? I'll feed on the humans and all of you if I have to. There's nothing that a pathetic human, a bitch in red, a no speaking English human girl or a country bumpkin can do anything about it." the vampire insulted.

A fit of rage had kicked into both Eda, Luz and especially Maxwell. They didn't know who was more enraged by such derogatory words.

"What did you just call me?" yelled Eda.

"What did you just say to me?" shouted Luz.

"Country Bumpkin?" yelled Maxwell.

Maxwell was now filled with such rage that he let out a loud lion like growl as his eyes turned gold and a very powerful gold light formed all around him and his body. He charged at the vampire with a battle cry and began to try and land multiple punches and kicks on the man while he was trying to dodge every move. They didn't know who was faster with the moves. Maxwell or the vampire. Luz was seeing that Maxwell was not just fighting against him to defend his friends and everyone there or from the insulting word that the vampire called him, Luz and Eda but also for their honor.

"What a bunch of anger." said the vampire looking surprised.

"I'm gonna kill you, asshole!" shouted Maxwell.

A lot of the kids gasped from the swear words that Maxwell was using as he battled the vampire. Maxwell landed another punch to him but this time, it was a punch to his stomach. This knocked the breath out of him a bit and he stood up with his back hunched over.

"Did he just call him what I think he called him?" said a few of the kids.

"Sock it to him, Maxie!" called Eda looking thrilled.

The vampire got up and charged at Maxwell as every punch or kick he tried to land was only deflected or dodged by Maxwell as he was dodging his every move without fail like he was a graceful dancer.

"Stand still so I can kick your ass!" shouted the vampire.

"You got be faster than that, you parasitic leech." insulted Maxwell.

"You stubborn monkey." growled the vampire.

He tried to make one more punch on Maxwell but he caught his fist with his hands and knew calling this vampire an insulting word or two was going to hurt him like he did to them.

"Go fuck yourself." said Maxwell with a grin.

With an intense brute amount of force, he pushed the vampire across the campus grounds with one brute push. This sent him flying over a dozen feet away which the vampire landed on his sides. He managed to get up on his feet as if he had a good amount of stamina like Maxwell.

"I've never met a human with a bit of fight in him." said the vampire panting a bit.

"Is your old age catching up with you, you old, backwards bat?" insulted Maxwell.

Everyone was surprised that Maxwell was saying such insults towards someone so dangerous yet a lot of the kids were starting to feel a bit of excitement from watching this battle take place. Eda was looking like she was turned on by this side of Maxwell or from how Maxwell was standing up to such a monster. She looked as though she was hoping to see more action. Maxwell made a rapid hand motion and suddenly had at least seven ghost like figures of himself appear in a puff of gold smoke. They all looked more like clones of him as they moved themselves around to confuse this vampire.

"He can do magic like her?" said some of the students.

"Oh, la naiba." said the vampire.

"Come and get it!" said the clones of Maxwell.

The vampire was looking around at them clones that Maxwell formed and he was having an idea to find out which one of them was the real one. He pulled out another knife and started to toss a lot of knives at him and his clones at such speed that it looked like a samurai drawing out their sword. Many of them were tossed towards Maxwell but any of them that were about to go for the kids or anyone else were stopped in mid air like a force field stopped them and the knives would rapidly form into rust and dissolved into dust. The knives that went for him had made the clones disappear in a puff of smoke and all seven of the clones were gone but Maxwell teleported and looked as though he was nowhere to be seen.

"So that's how you want to play this." called out the vampire.

He looked around to try and see if he could spot Maxwell hiding somewhere, everyone else wondered where he went to as they too had no idea what he planned next. The vampire tried to pull out more weapons but he had nothing to pull out, he was out of knives.

"Come on out and fight me like a real man!" called the vampire out sharply. "Come back and face me!"

Maxwell's laughing was heard as if he was toying with this vampire. Without warning, he reappeared and landed a kick to the vampire's face and he let out a groan of pain as he nearly lost his footing. Maxwell was doing a lot of backward flips at a rapid pace till he did one more and landed on his feet.

"Eda, I got a killer idea." came Maxwell's voice into Eda's mind.

The vampire was slightly bleeding from the mouth and looked up towards Maxwell with an expression of rage.

"Come back and take me on like a man!" yelled the vampire as he charged at him.

Maxwell had formed a grin on his face as something sounded like golden age hip hop music was playing on a radio that wasn't seen but they could hear it. Maxwell and the vampire charged at each other and Maxwell dodged his next move but landed a punch to the monster's face twice, nearly knocking him down but he kept his footing.

"Don't call it a comeback. I been here for years, rocking my peers and putting suckers like you in fear. Making the tears rain down like a monsoon. Listen to the bass go boom!"

Maxwell saw that the vampire charged at him again but he snapped his fingers and gave the vampire another punch that resulted in a fiery explosion like a grenade had blown up, nearly sending the monster flying while the kids were starting to dance a bit to this musical hip hop beat. Luz was looking like she was seeing an exciting boxing match she was cheering for while Eda was looking overjoyed at this battle as Maxwell was gaining the upper hand. Everytime the vampire tried to land a hit on Maxwell, he dodged it and landed a hard hit to the vampire.

"Explosion, overpowering. Over the competition I'm towering. Wrecking shop, when I drop these lyrics that'll make you call the cops!"

The hip hop music was getting plenty of the kids excited to see such a battle between two people while Luz and Eda couldn't help but make somewhat of a dance with their hips to this.

"Don't you dare stare, you better move. Don't ever compare. Me to the rest that'll all get sliced and diced. Competition's paying the price!"

The vampire was trying to land a punch or kick to Maxwell but he kept successfully dodging them and he would deflect or cancel out any magic that the vampire tried to use. Maxwell was starting to land a punch on the vampire when ever he dodged a move from him. He began to sing out words like "I'm gonna knock you out" while he would say "Mama said knock you out" he would land a punch on the vampire everytime he said each phrase.

"Knock him out cold, Maxie!" called out Luz.

"Yeah, knock this bozo out!" cheered Eda.

Maxwell appeared to be faster while the vampire male was slowly starting to slow down. Maxwell was practically dancing around him to mock him.

"Don't you call this a regular jam. I'm gonna rock this land. I'm gonna take this new world by storm. And I'm just getting warm. Just like Muhummad Ali they called him Cassius. Watch me bash this beat like a skull"

When Maxwell said that was when he dodged another punch and another use of magic from the vampire and punched him in the face hard, nearly making him a bit dizzy and he tried to keep his footing as he was getting it handed to him by a male human teenager.

"Cause you know I had beef wit. Why do you riff with me, the maniac psycho. And when I pull out my jammy get ready 'cause it might go  
Blaw"

Anothe fiery explosion was seen when Maxwell punched the vampire with fire that formed around his fist and it was like a hand grenade going off.

"How ya like me now? The ripper will not allow!"

Some of the kids were nearly cheering for this as Maxwell dodged every move that the vampire made for him like he was dodging him through a confident, graceful dance motion.

"You to get with, Mr. Smith, don't riff. Listen to my gear shift. I'm blasting, outlasting. Kinda like Shaft, so you could say I'm shafting. Olde English filled my mind, and I came up with a funky rhyme!"

The vampire was about to make another move towards him but Maxwell dodged it by leaning towards the left and he landed another hard punch on the vampire as the monster was starting to tire but kept going. Every punch that Maxwell landed on him was nearly causing him to bleed a bit. He sung out words "I'm gonna knock you out" while he would say "Mama said knock you out" again and he would land a punch on the vampire everytime he said each phrase.

"I'm gonna knock you out! Mama said knock you out! I'm gonna knock out! Mama said knock you out!"

Maxwell saw that he was about to try to bite him but he used his foot to kick him in the face and knock him down to the ground. He struggled to get up as Maxwell danced around him to mock him. A lot of the kids, even Luz, Gus, Willow, Eda and even King were looking as though they were a thrilled audience that were watching a live kick boxing match.

"Yeah! Dance the boogie! Dance the boogie! Dance the boogie! Dance the boogie!"

The vampire managed to get up and made one more attempt to try and kill Maxwell but as he charged at Maxwell with a battle cry like roar, he only met Maxwell's fist to his face when the human male turned to punch him in the face. Maxwell kept dodging his moves and landing punches to his face, chest and even parts of his sides.

"Knock you out! Mama said knock you out!"

Everytime he sang out "I'm gonna knock you out" he landed harder punches to the vampire's face and he did so again everytime he sang out "Mama said knock you out" Maxwell was gaining the upper hand and looked as though he was clearly the winner of this battle when the vampire formed a ball of fire in his hands and was about to toss them at Maxwell but he formed huge balls of water from his hands and used them to put the fire balls out everytime they came at him. The vampire moved so fast this one last time that he looked like he teleported and Maxwell winded up his fist and he listened to the sound with his ears as he could hear the rapid foot steps coming his way from the vampire and he turned around behind him as he saw the vampire reappear which Maxwell was ready.

"Mama said knock you out!" cried Maxwell.

Maxwell landed the hardest punch to the vampire's face and it made a bone cracking sound that showed that Maxwell broke the vampire's jaw, sending him flying as the music stopped. The vampire was sent flying towards Eda and that's when Luz rushed to Eda's side and both Eda and Luz formed a fist.

"Mama said knock you out!" said Eda and Luz in unison.

Both Eda and Luz landed a hard punch to the vampire's face and it sent him flying back towards Maxwell. That's when Maxwell pulled out his necklace that had a golden cross as he wrapped the chain around his hand and just as the vampire went for him, that's when Maxwell punched him in the face one last time which the cross touched the vampire's face. The vampire was sent flying but his body caught on fire and was consumed by the flames as he landed on the ground but turned into dust that got blown into the wind.

"The power of christ compels you." said Maxwell with a pant.

The glowing gold in Maxwell's eyes disappeared and turned back to blue while the gold energy around him disappeared as he made his way towards Eda, Luz and King while plenty of the kids were ether shocked, surprised, some of them didn't know what to think, say or do while plenty of them felt like cheering for joy. Many of the kids suddenly cheered for the victory as Eda, King and Luz cheered him on.

"Yeah, that's my boy! Our boy is king of the world!" cheered King.

"That's my Maxie boy, kicking butts and taking names!" cheered Eda.

Maxwell finally made it to Eda, Luz and King as they embraced him in a group hug and he hugged them back. They were thrilled and proud of him for defeating a vampire.

"Alright, anyone who has to be at their classes, go back to your classes. Show is over." called out Principle Bump.

Many of the students groaned but knew they had to go back to class as many of them walked back to their classes and both Eda, Luz, King and Maxwell turned to face Principle Bump as he walked over towards them.

"Maxwell, this power you speak of. I haven't seen a human perform such magic or anything so powerful since Edalyn had attended Hexside." said Principle Bump slowly recovering from the shock. "Did Edalyn teach you how to use it?"

"I didn't teach him that." answered Eda honestly.

This left Principle Bump surprised. He expected that he learned how to use this power from Eda but now he was not sure who taught him.

"Than how did you learn how to use it?" asked Principle Bump curiously.

"The person I ran into. When he shook hands with me, I felt something weird going on in my body. All the knowledge on how to wield it or use it felt like it poured into my mind as if one hundred years of knowledge on how to use it poured into my head like water into a bucket." explained Maxwell.

"This man, what did he look like?" asked Principle Bump.

"Over six feet tall, looked like he was a muscular hulk. He had his head shaved bald, looked as though he could be the same age as you. He wore a silver kimono." Maxwell described.

Principle Bump knew that who ever this person was had to be someone who attended Hexside a long time ago if he was around the same age as him. He was feeling curious but knew he had to put that aside for the time being.

"He could've gone to Hexside when I attended here. But even if I was to look for old student records of all students who attended here when I was attending, I doubt I'll find anything." said Principle Bump sadly. "But it can't kill me to find out."

"We'll probably never see a softer side of Bump but this is probably the closest thing to it." said Eda giggling.

"I wouldn't get used to it. I do have to issue authority when I have to." stated Principle Bump.

"So is my human attending here or what?" said Eda getting impatient.

Principle Bump had a serious and stoic expression as he let out a sigh.

"While I am impressed at how he wielded such power with those forms of magic and even how he can handle an armed assailant. He should know that no one gets special treatment, even the students who play a sport in the athletics program don't get special treatment from me since no one can get by me with flirtation or kissing up." Principle Bump stated.

Maxwell was hanging onto his every word which he could sense Principle Bump was getting dramatic. This was causing his hopes to fade as if he knew some bad news was coming.

"Predicting that this mad man was coming here did alert us about the situation before it came banging at the door. With such power he possesses, it's almost like seeing Eda with how powerful her magic appears to be, can't tell which is more powerful though since I've seen how Eda uses her magic and I'm just now seeing how Maxwell wields his power." said Principle Bump adding on.

Maxwell let out a nervous cough and hiccup from hearing this. He felt like he disagreed with one of those statements.

"I don't think I'm more powerful Eda, sir. Eda's clearly the most powerful." said Maxwell blushing.

Eda felt a sense of pride hearing that but she also knew that Maxwell was possibly right. Principle Bump cleared his throat.

"I see. So you really want to attend Hexside to get a better control over this power? Not just because you fear you'll lose control over it and hurt someone you care about, or yourself? But you want to learn magic and attend with Luz?" said Principle Bump.

"I do. I don't want to be apart from Luz if she goes here and I didn't. It would break my heart." said Maxwell sounding depressed about the subject. "But also, if I lose control of this power, than just think. If I was to lose control over it, than who knows who could get hurt in the line of fire. Losing control over this power would be like setting a building on fire but if I learn to control it to prevent it from getting out of my own control, than it puts out the fire."

Principle Bump did seem to agree that Maxwell's metaphor made sense. He knew that he wouldn't want the school to catch on fire nor did he want anyone to get caught on fire.

"A compelling reason or two, I'll admit." Principle Bump agreed.

A thought just popped up into Maxwell's head and he knew that it was something that concerned both him, Eda and Luz.

"Sir, forgive me for interrupting but if I was to attend here, you wouldn't tell the Emperor or his coven that me and Luz are attending her? And you wouldn't tell them that Eda enrolled us here? Would you?" asked Maxwell politely.

"No. Hexside School is safe for you both. I'm the principal, not a stooge. Consider Edalyn's pupils our pupils." said Principle Bump reassuring him.

"Oh gracias a dios." said Maxwell with a sigh of relief.

"Uh, can someone translate?" asked Principle Bump looking clueless.

"He's just grateful to know that. Lets just say him and Lilith don't get along for a reason. Don't ask." Luz translated but also warned.

Principle Bump could see that there is a strong bond between Maxwell and Luz, they knew a foreign language and sensed they knew more, probably more than him when it comes to anything involving humans in the subject. He also knew that Maxwell was almost like another Eda but different somewhat. He remembered that didn't get along well with Eda but he remembered that Maxwell and Eda did help save the kids from an unevolved vampire, he knew what he had to do.

"Well, he did save the students, teachers and staff from a dangerous man that threatened to kill anyone who got in his way, even if he was after only humans, without his psychic vision or his assistance along with Edalyn. Than we would've had some casualties. In light of that, barring any more trouble, you shall officially be enrolled in Hexside School next semester with Luz." stated Principle Bump with a smile.

Hearing that felt like Maxwell's heart raced from excitement and it felt like he was struck by lightning. He was almost speechless and stood there like a statue. They all looked at him with a worried feeling. Principle Bump's smile faded a bit as he now looked worried.

"Is he alright? I expected him to jump for joy or as the kids say, breakdance." said Principle Bump looking worried.

"Maxie, you alright, big guy? Say something." said King trying to get his attention.

A grin slowly spread across Maxwell's face, he began to chuckle and ran towards Eda to embrace her. He was jumping for joy briefly but felt so relieved like a huge weight was lifted off his back. Eda was half expecting this but didn't know it would be so sudden.

"This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. Thank you, Eda, both to you, King and Luz." said Maxwell shedding a tear.

Eda seemed to at least let Maxwell hug her since she knew that he probably was going to feel like the happiest boy on the Boiling Isles. She placed her hands on Maxwell's shoulders.

"Maxie, looked up at me for a minute." instructed Eda.

Maxwell looked up towards her as he smiled and wiped the tear of joy from his eyes.

"Hey Bump, give us a minute alone so I can at least talk him." suggested Eda.

Principle Bump nodded and backed up a few feet and Eda turned to look at Maxwell.

"Maxie, I've told Luz this before when I enrolled her at Hexside. I'm only doing this because I have faith in you like I have faith in Luz. And I know you're too smart to fall for that One‐Witch, One‐Coven nonsense. This power you possess, I know you wanted me to originally teach you how to control it, since your going here to learn how to control it, don't worry, I'm not hurt by it. The fact that you wanted to attend here to not only be with Luz but also learn magic and a way to control this power along with the fact that you tried not to hurt my feelings in wanting to go, proves your a sweet kid with a bit of a rebel in you and I'm proud that you didn't want to hurt me." explained Eda with a grin. "You can learn a lot from the witches here. And maybe teach them some of that Bad Girl Coven magic too. Or in your case, teach them some of that Bad Boy Coven magic."

"I didn't hear that. I really didn't hear any of that last bit." stated Principle Bump.

Maxwell felt his heart had grown a bit larger from hearing Eda's words. Eda gave him an affectionate head patting to his head but also reached out with her other hand to briefly tickle Maxwell's belly which caused him to shake and laugh.

"That tickles." chuckled Maxwell.

Luz and King came over to them and joined in on hugging Maxwell as Eda was comfortable in letting them join in. They were hugging Maxwell as they felt happy knowing that he would be attending Hexside with Luz. Even to Luz, she felt the more of her friends going with her to school, the better. After hugging him and each other for a bit, they released their arms from each other.

"There is one little thing I will suggest." said Principle Bump.

"What ever it is. I'm not cutting my hair." said Maxwell brushing his fingers through his long, beautiful hair.

"I was going to suggest that you try to tone down the language a little." advised Principle Bump.

Maxwell let out a sigh of relief. He was glad that he didn't have to cut his hair short since he really loves having his thick, full, and voluminous hair to be long and beautiful like a lion's mane.

"I can't make any promises. Sometimes we slip up without meaning to." warned Maxwell.

"I can somewhat live with that. Now, with that accomplished, Eda, we have some paperwork to fill out." Principle Bump stated.

"I figured that I'd have to." said Eda annoyed.

Eda looked back at Maxwell with a grin.

"You better enjoy this place, kid." said Eda patting Maxwell on the head.

"Yes ma'am. But if I end up not enjoying this place, than you have my permission to pull me out and tell me what to do for the rest of my life. I could never hurt nor disobey you." said Maxwell kindly giving her permission in this.

Eda could tell that Maxwell telling her this and giving her permission to pull him out of his school and tell him what to do for the rest of his life was not only a huge gamble but she could tell that Maxwell was completely submissive to her for some reason. She brushed it off but suspected it was him letting her have power over him this way out of respect. She smiled and planted a kiss to Maxwell's cheek. This caused him to blush and feel his heart race but this time, he didn't faint. As Eda walked off to fill out the paperwork to have Maxwell enrolled, that's when Luz, King, Willow and Gus came over to Maxwell.

"She actually kissed you again and you didn't faint this time. I didn't expect that." said Gus surprised.

"I...I can't disobey her." said Maxwell with a hiccup.

Luz pulled Maxwell in for a hug and he came out of his shocked and dazed like state.

"I'm glad you'll be coming with me to Hexside." said Luz happily.

"Me too." said Maxwell hugging her back.

Luz hugged Maxwell a little tighter while Willow and Gus joined in. Maxwell groaned from the tight grip.

"Guys, hugging too tight. Too tight, can't breathe." said Maxwell weakly.

They loosened their grip as he let out a breathing sigh of relief.

"We should give Maxie a tour of Hexside." suggested Gus.

"I can show him what plants not to touch in the greenhouse. And then I can let him and you guys touch them." said Willow with a mischievous grin.

"I'm up for it." said Maxwell looking thrilled.

Luz, Willow, King and Gus lead Maxwell by the hand to the school and got him inside as they given him a tour of the Hexside. While they gave him a tour, they would interact with the magical plants and they knew just like when Luz was given a tour of the school, they knew Maxwell was new to this. Willow showed him what sort of plants they had and how they interact with them and how they care for them. To their surprise, Maxwell would show a peaceful interaction with the magical plants as he had a beautiful singing voice that would get the magical plants to behave peacefully yet he did have them plants dancing when he had dance music that was playing on his portable radio, even the students in there were dancing, even the teacher.

They gave him a tour of the rest of the school which they did engage in a little humorous mischief which Maxwell was a bit new to but they encouraged him positively to have a little fun which he did. It was as if he never felt so alive. After some time had gone by, they were making their way back towards the principle's office to reunite with Eda. Eda had already gotten the paperwork done with Principle Bump as they were about to walk out of the office.

"Glad that's over. Just so you know Bump, if anything happens to my humans. Than you'll have to answer to me. I don't want any harm coming to them. Understand?" said Eda firmly.

"I understand. Yet I do want to know. This male human, does he have any sort of physical or mental conditions we need to know about? Such as any allergies or disabilities?" asked Principle Bump curiously.

Eda looked around and saw no one was around and looked back at him.

"He said that a doctor never found anything at all, which that's none of anyone's business." Eda stated firmly.

"Understood." said Principle Bump.

Eda and Principle Bump waked out of the office and found Luz, King, Willow, Gus and Maxwell nearby. They saw them talking each other.

"You never told us you could sing like that." said Gus looking surprised.

"In the human realm. I took some music lessons here and there." said Maxwell looking pleased.

"Maxie's going to be mister popular and he's gonna get all the girls." teased King laughing.

Luz giggled and took hold of King and carried him as both her and Maxwell would playfully tickle his belly, causing him to laugh and squirm. Eda smiled at the sight. She could sense that Maxwell will get his power under control and be able to be less saddened by going to Hexside with Luz. She felt Maxwell will do well like Luz.

"Smell you later, Bump." giggled Eda.

"Oh Eda." said Principle Bump with a sigh to her joke.

Eda walked over towards them and as Willow and Gus hugged King, Luz and Maxwell, they walked off afterwards as they knew they'd see each other again soon. Eda lead the way as Luz, King and Maxwell followed her down the hallways.

"So Maxie, how was your experience with getting a look at Hexside through out the tour?" asked Eda.

"Looks better than the schools in the human realm, that's for sure." answered Maxwell. "Permission to speak freely?"

"Go ahead, little man." Eda told him.

"What were you like when you were attending Hexside?" asked Maxwell curiously while blushing.

Eda looked serious for a moment and fell silent.

"I'm not saying a word about it." said Eda firmly.

Maxwell blushed deeper and looked a bit disappointed as he nearly looked away and hung his head. Eda suddenly smiled and laughed.

"I'm kidding. I was quite the rebel at that age. I was one sassy, wild child." laughed Eda with a snort. "I was practically kicking butt and taking names when I had to. You would not believe the pranks I pulled, hahaha."

Eda patted and ruffled Maxwell's head with her hand and Maxwell felt better to know she was only pulling his leg.

"You can say I did like you once mentioned. Mama said knock you out." said Eda making a punching motion. "The way you made Bump's magic backfire on him, how you dealt with him and how you took down that blood sucker. That was totally awesome, look out Hexside, you're dealing with Maxie and he's gonna knock you out."

Maxwell let out a laugh and felt his heart was beating for Eda as if his heart was cheering Eda on when he heard Eda hyping him up the way she did. They walked out of the school and once they've headed home, they felt like they've made a huge accomplishment for not just themselves but for Maxwell's emotional growth.

"Eda, what did you look like when you attended Hexside?" asked Maxwell curiously.

Eda smiled and pulled Maxwell to the couch as she got out what looked like pictures of her when she was a student at Hexside. What Maxwell saw seem to have him feeling as though his heart was struck by Eda's appearance when she was a young student. The bright, fiery orange hair she had back than and what she looked like as a student back than had his heart racing faster than it ever has. The picture that showed her when she pulled the prank in the locker room with Eda showing a mischievious and naughty grin. The picture that showed her prank that went on in the cafeteria and the look of determination she had on her face. The picture that showed the prank that she pulled by hexing the school bells. The picture that showed Eda when she found some giant bugs that tore up ether parts of the school or a class room from the looks of it. Showing that she was riding one of their backs with a cute grin that looked like she was fighting the urge to laugh with a naughty angelic grin. The picture that showed her prank she pulled on the Grudgby field. Even more pictures he saw of Eda as a student.

"I actually thought Principle Bump was exaggerating at first when he said Eda was a terrible student. Only because when a teacher and a student didn't get along, they'd exaggerate from frustration." explained Luz.

"She's not a terrible student." muttered Maxwell.

They turned to look at Maxwell and they saw him blushing deeply.

"You had bright, fiery orange hair?" said Maxwell looking surprised.

Maxwell knew that Eda had that sort of hair color from a vision he had of the past but he was feeling like he was seeing a more beautiful side of Eda with her natural hair color. Eda giggled.

"Oh I sure did. I was one fiery bad girl." said Eda looking pleased.

Maxwell may have been sitting down with them but he fell over to his side, leaning on Eda with his head leaning on her shoulder. They saw he was blushing and they let out a chuckle.

"He went a little longer without fainting this time. That might be his personal best." Eda chuckled.

"Maybe Maxie's struck by Eda's beautiful appearance when he saw her pictures of her as a student." said King with a giggle. "Maxie likes Eda, hahahahahaha."

As King was laughing, he fell off the couch and onto the floor as he tried to stop laughing.

"Okay, I know what you girls are thinking. I made a joke, fell over, and it all means karma." King said realizing things.

They knew King was right and as they saw Maxwell blushing and out like a light, it was like he was sleeping. They all smiled.

"You know, he's kind of cute when he's out like a light." said King blushing.

"He's had quite a day but he looks like a cute baby when he's asleep." said Luz cutely.

Just as soon as Eda was about to lay him down, they saw his lips moving a bit as they could hear him muttering something. They grew curious to what it was.

"Luz, can you hear what he's saying?" asked Eda curiously.

As Luz listened to what Maxwell was saying, she could make out what little words he had muttered.

"Qué mujer." muttered Maxwell.

Luz was a bit confused by what Maxwell said in the Spanish language. She knew what he said but didn't know who or what it was directed at.

"He said what a woman." Luz translated.

Both Luz, King and Eda wondered about a thing or more when Maxwell said that in Luz's native language. Who could he referring to when he said "What a Woman" Luz and King knew that Maxwell was in love with who they knew is apparently a mystery woman but since he hadn't told them who it was, than both Eda, King and Luz wondered. Who was Maxwell referring to?


	28. Chapter 28

Two days have passed by since Eda enrolled Maxwell into Hexside so he can start next semester to learn magic alongside Luz and so he can learn to control this power he possesses. He felt comforted by the idea of going to Hexside next semester with Luz and to learn how to control this power he possesses so he wouldn't lose control and hurt someone. His plan to help Eda with her curse was still on his mind but he didn't tell anyone yet.

It was morning and all but Maxwell appeared to be awake. Luz walked down a hallway and met up with Eda as she did. Eda stretched her back and audibly smacked her big, full lips. She grinned at the sight of Luz.

"How'd you sleep, kiddo?" said Eda.

"I slept well. But I did have to go use the bathroom during the night but nothing to worry about. I did hear strange moaning from where Maxie sleeps." said Luz.

"Maybe he had a headache that needed time to subside. Enrolling him into Hexside made him tickled pink. The excitement could've got to his head, literally." Eda guessed.

Eda puffed up her cheeks and made her hands appear as if she was holding onto her head, making it seem as though it swelled up to the size of boulder.

"Oh man, my head. It feels so heavy. Why does my head look so huge." joked Eda laughing.

Luz giggled at this and Eda made a fake farting sound with her teeth pressed to her lips as she made her hands slowly come to her cheeks and made it look like she got her head to shrink back down to it's normal size.

"Oh that's much better. My head got so huge." joked Eda.

Both of them chuckled at the joke as they saw King at the bathroom door. King was knocking on the door as if making sure he didn't barge in on someone.

"Hey Maxie, you alright in there?" called King.

"What's going on, you little furrball?" said Eda playfully.

Loud groaning was heard from inside the bathroom. Since Eda, Luz and King were outside the bathroom door, they assumed that Maxwell was inside. They heard loud groaning, some slight coughs and loud retching sounds. They could tell something wasn't right.

"Hey Maxie, you feeling alright in there?" called Luz.

The groaning sounds were louder and they sounded like groans of pain of exhaustion. Eda walked towards the door and grabbed the door knob to jiggle it.

"Well, he didn't lock the door." said Eda relieved.

"Maxie, if your not decent, put something on. We're coming in." called Luz.

"Please don't be naked." said Eda hopefully.

Eda turned the door knob and opened the door. They walked in and saw Maxwell was on his knees and his head was hanging over the toilet. They saw that he looked pale from the face, he retched once more and they looked away as they could tell he was puking.

"Ewwww." they all said looking grossed out.

Maxwell stopped tossing it in the toilet as he successfully managed to get it all in the toilet and made no mess. He reached a shaking hand to push the lever and flushed the toilet. He let out a groan of discomfort. Luz walked over to him and lifted his head up from the side. Maxwell was looking pale in the face and from Luz's hand being placed on his forehead and cheeks, his face felt warm and looked like he was starting to sweat.

"Eda, Maxie's not looking so good. He's burning up." said Luz with a worried look.

Eda and King walked over and as Luz gave them some room to examine him, that's when Eda felt Maxwell's face and forehead. She felt the warm body temperature on his whole face.

"Maxie, how you feeling?" asked Eda softly.

Maxwell barely managed to shake his head slowly as if trying to respond to Eda. She didn't know what Maxwell was trying to tell her since he wasn't saying actual words and only made verbal sounds.

"Maxie, maybe you could do some good with some food in your belly?" King suggested.

Maxwell's stomach gurgled loudly and they backed away a bit as Maxwell retched and let out the vomit in the toilet. It was brief but Luz flushed the toilet for him.

"I'll take that as a no." said King looking worried.

Eda leaned over and pulled Maxwell up into her arms as she carried him out of the bathroom while Luz and King followed her. They went to the living room as Eda laid him on his back to the couch. They made sure there was a large bucket nearby in case Maxwell had to puke again. Eda felt Maxwell's face, his cheeks, forehead and she felt his belly which she could feel his body was warm in those areas.

King brought the first aid kit and Eda got out the thermometer and placed it in his mouth.

"Maxie, keep it underneath your tongue." instructed Eda.

Maxwell obeyed as he could hear them. They waited for a bit and Eda pulled the thermometer out of his mouth as she saw what his temperature was. They could see that Maxwell was sweating a bit, shivered a bit from a possible chill, when King mentioned food, he didn't appear hungry.

"His temperature is a bit high. It's one-hundred and one." said Eda shaking her head.

Eda gave King the thermometer so he could disinfect it and put it away. Luz pulled out a rag and handed it to Eda so she could place it on Maxwell's forehead.

"Maxie, do you remember how you got sick?" asked Luz curiously.

"I think...it was...what I had for lunch yesterday. That Japanese dish, it tasted odd but I thought it was suppose to be that way." said Maxwell with a groan.

They remember that yesterday they had lunch somewhere but they tried out something they never had before because they figured it would be a good thing to try something new. Eda shook her head.

"I did sense negative vibes from that." said Eda with a sigh.

"I'm sorry Eda." said Maxwell sadly.

"You didn't know, Maxie. It's not your fault that you didn't know." Eda reassured.

Luz came over to him and placed her hand on his stomach as she was rubbing his belly, attempting to relieve some discomfort in his belly.

"Poor Maxie, I know being sick isn't fun." stated Luz showing compassion.

"I'm sorry, Luz." said Maxwell groaning.

"It's alright, Maxie. You didn't do anything wrong." Luz kindly reassured.

"I'm sorry I didn't say something sooner." said Maxwell with a hiccup.

Maxwell appeared to be showing a bit of fear when he told them this as if worried he'd be in trouble with Eda. They all went silent. What did Maxwell mean by not saying something sooner? Did he feel ill sooner than they discovered or was it something else? They didn't know. Eda started to look as though she caught Maxwell doing something he shouldn't be doing.

"Maxie, what do you mean you didn't say something sooner?" asked Eda firmly.

"I felt a funny feeling in my belly sometime last night before we went to bed. I would've said something but you all looked so tired and I didn't want to be bother. I know people get cranky from lack of sleep." explained Maxwell softly.

Luz looked as though a light bulb went off in her head. She blushed and now understood about the moans that she heard Maxwell making when she went to use the bathroom during the night.

"That explains a lot." said Luz understanding the signs.

"You're about one thing, Maxie. You should've spoke up and said something sooner." said Eda reminding him of what he should've done.

"I know and I'm sorry." said Maxwell agreeing with Eda. "Maybe it's true about what someone once said."

"About what?" asked Luz.

"Women being right. My mother told me she's always right, even when she's wrong, she's always right. I assumed that also meant women are always right, that women are wiser and that's why men haven't died off long time ago. I should listen to you two." explained Maxwell blushing from what he told them.

Eda smiled and somehow agreed with those words as if it was a form of flattery or as if she knew about this truth for a long time and was glad to hear a male admit it. Luz seemed to be touched that Maxwell agreed about what his mother said about her being always right. King seem to think that Maxwell was saying this about women ether because of his fever, fear of offending a woman and suffering their wrath or possibly to stroke their egos or he assumed that Maxwell was saying that because he was seeing the truth. Eda reached out to place her hand on Maxwell's chest.

"Well Maxie, you and your mom are right about that. Women are wiser and they're always right, even when they're wrong, they're always right." said Eda swelling with pride.

Maxwell felt as though that his body reacted the same when ever Eda would kiss him, place her hand on his chest, belly, face, praise him for his rebelliousness or when ever she would show him her kinder side. His heart would race a bit, blush a little and let out a hiccup.

"Eda, your not mad at me for not saying something sooner?" asked Maxwell hopefully.

Eda shook her head with a grin.

"Nope, I'm not mad. I will admit that you puking is a little gross yet better out than in. Your forgiven, big guy." said Eda kindly.

Maxwell let out a sigh of relief as if glad to know that he wasn't in any trouble at all. Eda was wondering what they should do as ideas formed in her head.

"Maxie, I think I know a potion that you could take for what illness you have." said Eda looking confident.

"I don't know. Making potions is one thing but actually drinking them when I got no idea what they'll do or no idea what's in them." said Maxwell with a gulp.

They could see that Maxwell was feeling a bit nervous when it comes to using a potion since he was a bit afraid of taking a disguise potion back when he was getting help with retrieving his bag but that was when he was reassured that nothing horrible would happen.

"Maxie, you've taken a potion before." said Luz remembering.

"That was when you guys told me what it was for and that nothing would go wrong, despite how hesitant I was." said Maxwell with a groan.

Another gurgle came from Maxwell's stomach and he groaned loudly. Luz would try to rub his belly to relieve any pressure but it was doing very little to relieve any pain or pressure.

"Maxie, your afraid, are you? Afraid that a potion could make things worse or what it'll do." asked King.

Maxwell nodded once and felt a bit of shame for admitting it.

"Maxie, what ever happens, we won't let things get worse. Your ill, you need to be cared for and that's what we're here for. We do anything for Luz and keep her safe, alive and make sure she's alright." explained King kindly. "We'll do the same for you."

Maxwell felt his fears fade a little and decided to relent.

"Okay, but you guys are going to need surgical masks and gloves. In case anything gets messy and gross." Maxwell advised.

"Way ahead of you, big fella." said Eda getting up.

Eda and Luz got up and began to go and get the masks and gloves while King volunteered to look after Maxwell as they did what they were doing. King would try to make Maxwell laugh by making funny noises such as fake farting sounds with his hand under his arm and his other arm would slap against his hand, making a loud and fake farting sounds. Maxwell would give a small smile and chuckle.

"Maxie's smiling." teased King.

Eda and Luz came back and both the three of them placed on blue gloves and white surgical masks. Eda had a potion in one hand and they even made sure they had plenty of clean rags in cause of a mess. Eda took the stopped off from the potion vial and was about to place the vial to his mouth but Maxwell was shaking from what looked like a chill or from nervousness.

"Open up, big boy." instructed Eda.

"On the count of three?" said Maxwell nervously.

They nodded as they figured this would help Maxwell feel better by doing that.

"One, two, three." they spoke.

Eda placed the vial to his lips and Maxwell swallowed the potion down as the liquid was green. He carefully down the potion as if trying to make sure not to choke. Luz placed her hand on Maxwell's belly while giving him a sympathetic look.

"That's our big boy." said Luz reassuring him.

Eda put the vial away and they waited a minute to see if things were going to improve or get worse. Maxwell was breathing in and out calmly but also tried not to panic.

"You've been sick before, have you Maxie?" asked Eda curiously.

He nodded once and felt his stomach was gurgling a bit more silent but he was waiting for the potion to kick in.

"I was always nervous around doctors. I just never liked the idea of them sticking me with a needle. They said it would only feel like a bee sting." said Maxwell shaking a bit.

"Maxie, you were traumatized when you were little when you had to see a doctor before, have you?" asked Luz looking concerned.

The aching pain in Maxwell's head and stomach was still there but slowly felt it dissipate.

"I don't remember much but I remember when I was four that someone told me a few graphic tales about what goes on in hospitals such as surgery or people who are seriously hurt, the said person got too graphic with the details, so many gory details that my mom saw this man was freaking me out. Last thing I remember was my mom going off on this man about what kind of person tells this to a four year old boy. I don't remember anything else other than that. I can't remember who this man was or what he looked like." explained Maxwell.

They all were a bit wide eyed from hearing this but they could tell that anyone telling someone at a young age scary little stories could have some traumatizing affects on them.

"If I was there and saw that guy was doing that to you. I'd be yelling at him and telling him what is wrong with you." Luz stated as her motherly instincts kicked in.

"I would've done worse to the creep." Eda chimed in.

Maxwell felt as though Eda and Luz were expressing how they would've helped Maxwell if they were there when he was at age four, going through that traumatizing event. He felt like this was a mother's love from their mama bear instrincts. But he did look a bit alarmed from what Eda said.

"I'm afraid to ask what you would do if you saw that happen to me." said Maxwell a bit afraid to ask.

"I would've set him on fire and ripped him apart. That or kick him where the sun don't shine." Eda stated with a confident grin.

Luz and Maxwell went silent and were a little shocked to hear this. Luz half expected Eda to say something like that but Maxwell was still a bit new to how a witch would handle things if someone they cared about was in danger and they'd help them.

"Is it normal that I'm a little afraid of that?" said Maxwell in a nervous tone.

"If I got to be scary to fend off anyone who hurts someone that is my own, than it's only to scare off the creep." said Eda with a laugh and snort. "But boy I would look fierce."

King cleared his throat and crossed his arms, looking at Eda with a stoic expression. He was motioning his head towards Maxwell as if pointing to him. Eda could see that Maxwell was a little alarmed by what she said as the young human male looked away.

"Okay, I'd probably just kick the creep where the sun don't shine. But I'd threaten him as a warning." said Eda trying to sound less scary.

Maxwell looked back and felt his body was feeling normal but his stomach gurgled as loud as possible and they could hear it. He let out a groan and looked as though he was about to puke or something worse as he felt a bit too weak to move at this point. Luz tried to rub Maxwell's belly to help relieve any pressure.

"Ohhhhhh." groaned Maxwell in pain.

"I think he's gonna throw up." said King looking alarmed.

"That's not what's coming out." Maxwell said weakly.

"Maybe we should burp him." Eda suggested.

"He's a teenager, not an infant." King argued.

"Back away." warned Maxwell his voice sounding dry.

They backed away a couple of feet and decided to heed his warning. Maxwell's cheeks puffed up as if he tried to stop himself from puking.

"He's gonna blow!" they said in unison.

Maxwell suddenly let out the loudest burp he ever let out and he breathed a bit of fire as a result. The burp eventually stopped but Maxwell laid back down and let out a groan, his body shook a bit, his face was still pale and his belly still felt discomfort.

"Did it work?" asked Luz hopefully.

Maxwell was hesitant at first but shook his head.

"I'm sorry guys." said Maxwell groaning.

They were relieved that Maxwell wasn't going to puke or have a very bad wound but they were slightly disappointed that the potion didn't work. Eda let out an annoyed groan.

"Well, that didn't work." said Eda annoyed.

An idea popped into Luz's head as she remembered something. Maxwell's healing power.

"Maxie, what about your healing power?" suggested Luz.

"I tried and nothing happened. It's like when Eda's curse comes back, she can't do magic when that happens. But I don't understand why I can't do it. I tried but I can't get any magic out of me." explained Maxwell looking confused.

They all looked worried about this as this has never happened before or at least they never saw this happen before with Maxwell or anyone who could do magic.

"Maxie, that man you ran into that told you if anyone asks, you never saw him. Did anything else weird happen when you interacted with him?" asked Eda looking as though she sensed something bad was happening.

"I told you everything already. Both when I first told you and when you were enrolling me at Hexside." Maxwell reminded.

Eda was thinking of other reasons this could be happening. If Maxwell couldn't do magic like when she can't do magic when her curse comes back, than she was suspecting that it could be many possibilities but only one of them could be correct.

"I wish I could say this could be a sign of Maxie being cursed but this doesn't look like the affects or signs of one. I know a thing or two about curses and this isn't a curse." explained Eda.

Maxwell looked towards Eda as he was hanging onto her every word as he was hoping to hear some good news. He felt a bit frightened at her words.

"Please tell me I'm not cursed." said Maxwell hopefully.

"Eda, I think this is scaring him a little." said Luz looking sympathetic.

"Relax, he's not cursed. But I think I know what this could be." said Eda trying to reassure them. "There used to be something known as a period of weakness for witches. During the period of weakness, they wouldn't be able to do magic during a moon cycle that happened every month, each time would last for three days. But than as time passed, the period of weakness was slowly disappearing, it was starting to become once a month but than later on, witches no longer had the period of weakness."

Maxwell hung onto her every word as his heart raced with fear and alarm. Luz came back over to Maxwell and placed her hand on his belly to show him some comfort.

"What about humans that can do magic?" asked Maxwell looking desperate.

"Calm down, Maxie. With humans that can do magic, well, since Luz has shown she may be able to do magic, in the old way witches used to do magic and possibly the new way. The period of weakness shouldn't happen to a human, well, only humans that can't do magic. But for humans that can do magic, it shouldn't be possible for them have that happening to them. But if that were to happen, which is highly unlikely, than it should only be for about one whole day or one whole night. But this has never happened to a human before. We only theorized it but if it's a human that can do any and all magic, than it would most likely happen to them, but a witch who doesn't know much magic yet like Luz, no offense there Luz. Than it wouldn't affect them." explained Eda.

"No offense taken." said Luz.

Maxwell let out a sigh of relief as he felt his fears about being cursed disappear. Luz felt relieved as well as she rubbed Maxwell's belly to try again to relieve any pressure in Maxwell's stomach.

"What other options should we take? The potion didn't work." said King.

"I could try another potion or if nothing else works, than I could take him to a healer." suggested Eda.

An idea formed into Luz's head and she winked and smiled at Maxwell.

"Well, we may have to do things the human way, this time." suggested Luz.

Eda and King looked towards Luz and were confused about this. They didn't know too much about how humans did things but they've heard rumors about some things they do.

"What's the human way of doing things for this?" asked Eda looking lost.

"Well, it's ether medicines humans use or let nature take it's course." answered Luz. "I'll be back, I think I got something in my bag."

Luz got up and walked out of the room and headed for her room. They waited for a minute or two and Luz returned with her bag. She had a bottle of water in one hand and her bag in the other. She placed the bag down and pulled the zipper. Luz pulled out what looked like a bottle or two of pills, opening the lid to each one of them as she gotten a pill from them and once she closed the bottles up, she placed the pills in one hand and turned to Maxwell.

"Come on, Maxie. Open up." instructed Luz.

Maxwell opened his mouth and Luz placed the pills in his mouth and got the bottle of water out. Twisting the lid off and placed the bottle to his lips so he could swallow the pills with water, he swallowed a couple of mouthfuls of water as Luz put the bottle of water down and twisting the lid back on it. Eda and King were a bit lost at this as if they were witnessing how humans treat any and all ailments for the first time. It was like a new learning experience for them.

"Luz, have you done this before?" asked King curiously.

"I picked up a few things or more from some experience or from what human doctors have advised." answered Luz. "He'll have to stay hydrated, get plenty of rest keep his body temperature cooled down."

"That we can do." said Eda.

"What if he has to, you know?" asked King.

They knew that King meant that if Maxwell was to puke again, they need to know what should be done since the living room and the bathroom were a distance away and they suspect that Maxwell wouldn't be able to hold it for that long.

"A bucket. We'll need a bucket for that." suggested Maxwell with a groan.

"I got that." Eda told them. "Don't worry, Maxie. Everything's alright."

Eda left the room and came back with a bucket that was a big one, she set it down near the couch and came over to Maxwell to feel his forehead, she could feel it was still warm but the sweating had lessened which she placed the rag back on his forehead.

"Maxie, I'm sorry that you're going through this." said Eda softly.

"I'm in good hands." said Maxwell with a sigh.

Maxwell started to try and clear his throat which sounded dry. Luz got the bottle of water and began to let him have a bit more to drink. Maxwell swallowed enough water that left the bottle half full. He let out a little burp afterwards.

"Maxie, if you were feeling ill since last night. What did you feel that started this?" asked King curiously.

"Headache, my belly started to feel uncomfortable and I felt hot all over." explained Maxwell with a groan from his stomach gurgling.

"Well, than Eda's right about something. You should've said something sooner, big guy." stated King. "But don't sweat it, we know you meant well."

Maxwell felt as though being cared for this way by people like Eda, King and Luz was something he longed for since his relationship with his own father was a horrible one, his loving mother deceased from natural causes and that he wasn't kindly cared for by anyone in so long. Everytime he was afraid, they'd comfort him. Everytime he made a mistake, they'd forgiven him and were patient with him. Everytime someone was bullying him, they were at his side to help him. They cared for him like a family should. He felt touched. Yet that touched feeling was short lived as he felt his stomach gurgle loudly again and groaned from it. Luz would rub Maxwell's belly again to help relieve any pressure or discomfort.

"Well, since today, we've got nothing to tend to for now. We'll at least be able to make sure Maxie is recovering from such an illness." Eda chimed in.

"And he's got such a soft belly like King." said Luz cutely.

Hearing this made Maxwell blush and feel his heart racing as he grew fond of Luz's motherly instincts. King came over and as Luz pulled him up in her arms, that's when King would make silly faces and silly noises to make Maxwell laugh. It worked as he managed to laugh a little.

"I love making this boy laugh. That's why I tickle him so much." laughed King.

King had crawled towards Maxwell and laid on his stomach, he would place his paw like hand on his soft belly in a brief poke. This caused Maxwell to laugh a little, he poked his belly again and stroked it slowly, causing Maxwell to giggle and squirm a bit.

"King, don't do that." giggled Maxwell.

"Oh what, don't do this?" teased King.

King would poke at Maxwell's belly and stroke it again, causing him to laugh and squirm a bit more. King eventually stopped to show a little mercy. Luz took hold of King and began to tickle his belly a little, causing the little wolf male demon to squirm and laugh.

"Whose got a soft belly and cares about others, you do." said Luz in a cute and excitible tone.

"I'm ticklish, hahahahahaha." laughed King squirming.

Luz eventually stopped tickling King and hugged him, pulling her surgical mask off and giving him a kiss to his forehead. King was giggling from this. As they got up and were about to walk off, that's when Luz was stopped when Maxwell lightly took hold of Luz's gloved hand. She looked back at him and so did the rest of them.

"Don't leave me alone." said Maxwell looking a bit afraid.

"It's alright, Maxie. We'll be in the house if you need us." said Luz reassuring him.

"Promise?" said Maxwell looking hopefully at her.

"I promise." said Luz with a grin.

Luz went to give Maxwell a hug and a kiss to his forehead, even rubbing his belly once more which was reassuring him enough to calm him of any fears.

"That's our big, brave boy." said Luz encouragingly.

Maxwell gave a small smile and nodded as he laid there to rest. As Luz, King and Eda walk off, Eda hung back for a bit as she looked towards Maxwell.

"Maxie, your alright?" asked Eda looking concerned.

"With you guys being with me. I'll live. But Eda, I know your the adult and what the adult says goes and I know your looking out for us. But could I suggest something?" Maxwell said hopefully.

"I'm listening." said Eda showing she was listening.

"Luz seems to know a bit about the sickness I'm going through and I know you do too. But please, listen to Luz on this one. I'm not trying to argue or start anything negative. I'm just suggesting something to try out and see where it goes." said Maxwell kindly.

A smile spread across Eda's face. She knew that he was only suggesting a solution and was trying to be nice about it without offending her.

"Okay, little guy. I'll try doing that." said Eda kindly. "Also, if you have to, you know, blow chunks, try to make it into that bucket. I may be grossed out when someone barfs like they got food poisoning, but better out than in."

"Thank you, Eda." said Maxwell relieved.

"Just don't go sneaking a bunch of hot girls in here. Unless you want them to paint you in red lipstick all over." joked Eda with a laugh and snort.

Hearing this joke from Eda left Maxwell blushing very deeply while letting out a loud but nervous cough. Eda could sense that he wasn't epecting her to joke about something at this time.

"Don't worry, little man. I'm kidding." Eda told him.

Maxwell let out a sigh of relief and managed to smile a little. Eda walked off and as Maxwell laid there on the couch to rest and recover, there was something or more on his mind. Since he's been with Eda, Luz, King and even Hooty, he feels safe with them and feels loved and cared for, something he hadn't felt in a long time. Yet the main thing on his mind was his feelings for the one person his heart would pump faster for, Eda.

"My heart, it only beats for her." said Maxwell to himself.

Through out the day, one of them would come back to him to make sure he had some water. He would eat a little bit as Luz would feed him a bit of soup. King would feed him an apple or more and Eda would at least let him eat a banana or two, she had it chopped up and she did follow what Maxwell suggested by listening to Luz during his time of illness and she found out that Luz knew what she was doing. Maxwell was in caring, loving hands as the day went by as he was recovering from his illness.


	29. Chapter 29

Five days have gone by since Maxwell felt ill. The day after his power returned, he had Luz help him place his hands on his belly and he spoke in a foreign language and his hands glowed a gold light and his stomach glowed the same colored light. This made every bit of discomfort he felt disappear. He was healed completely and his appetite was back as he had a large sandwich or two that had plenty of cheese, meat and even bacon. He sure loved the meat and cheese when it came to anything involving it.

It was getting close to nightfall while Eda, Luz and King were in one room but Maxwell was in the living room. He saw that Owlbert was in the room with him and he was watching him as if examining him to see how he reacts or behaves like an animal expert studying animals from a distance. Owlbert was stretching his legs and looked towards Maxwell with a curious look.

Owlbert hooted at Maxwell with a curious look. Maxwell was silent and Owlbert could sense that something was on Maxwell's mind or that something was bothering him.

He hooted at him again to get Maxwell's attention but he was again unresponsive. This left the little male owl scratching his head with one of his wings.

_"I have to do this tonight. It's my only chance to help Eda with her curse."_ said Maxwell in his head.

Owlbert smiled and gotten an idea to get Maxwell's attention. He grinned and blushed as he hooted to Maxwell while making motions with his wings that looked like he was blowing him kisses, making an attractive pose with his body as if pretending to be a woman that is flirting with a man.

"Eda wants to do what with me?" said Maxwell out loud.

He looked towards Owlbert and he saw the little male owl hooting in a laughing motion. Owlbert pointed one of his wings at him.

"Owlbert, why did you tell me that?" asked Maxwell annoyed.

The little owl hooted while making his wings show that it looked as though it was pointing to his own head and making a gesture that looked as though he was pointing up to the sky as if telling him his head was up in space.

"It's nothing to worry about." Maxwell lied.

Owlbert could sense he was lying as he hooted at Maxwell while his wings made a motion that looked as though he was knocking on a door and pointing to his head.

"I'm just thinking." Maxwell said.

Owlbert raised his wings as if asking him what he was thinking of.

"I'm just thinking of something that needs to be done but..." Maxwell paused.

Owlbert walked over towards Maxwell as he hooted at Maxwell while looking like his wings were making gestures that looked as though he was concerned about what was on the young male human's mind.

"You sure you want to know? I'm not so sure if you want to know because Luz and King know but no one else does. Besides, you'd laugh at me." said Maxwell sadly.

This was when Owlbert looked at Maxwell with a worried expression and started to hoot at him gently while making gestures with his wings that showed he pointed at him, than drew out the shape of a heart in the air and made a hugging motion. Maxwell could see that Owlbert was trying to help him. Maxwell sighed and blushed.

"Owlbert, you care about Luz, do you? Even King?" asked Maxwell.

Owlbert nodded with a grin.

"Well, there's this girl I like but the thing is, I really like her but I'm terrified of her at the same time. I know it sounds confusing but that's how I feel about this girl." explained Maxwell. "She's going through something that I know she can't fix on her own, she may be a tough lady who can handle anything and isn't afraid of anything, but I sense that something bad is coming her way and I really want to help her but I don't want to get her hopes up, which is why I didn't say anything nor did I say who she is to anyone."

Owlbert listened and he could tell that Maxwell looked desperate, that he really meant what he was telling him from the blushing and worried look upon his face. He hooted and looked as though he was curious to who this girl is.

"No, I didn't tell her. Luz and King know that I got a mystery woman I like but I didn't tell them who it is. I really like this girl but if I help her, I'm hoping she'll like me back. She's the most beautiful woman in the world, I like her but I'm also afraid of her. She's everything that I'm not, brave, confident, rebellious, sassy, fierce, fearless and foxy for her age, even though she's not old, she looks like she's young enough to be twenty-one, even if she's in her thirties, but she still looks young and drop dead beautiful." explained Maxwell looking desperate for assistance.

When Owlbert heard this, he was wide eyed with surprise at first, than grinned, blushed and hooted in a chuckling motion. He began to hoot at him and point a wing at him. Maxwell blushed from this.

"Is it normal?" asked Maxwell nervously. "Is it normal that I like Eda?"

"Ooooo, someone likes Eda?" came a teasing male voice.

Maxwell froze like a statue, his heart filled with surprise, nervousness and embarrassment at the fact he was overheard. The person who came from the hallway entrance of the living room was King. He was smiling and giggling loudly.

"Oh no." whispered Maxwell.

"I knew it! Maxie likes Eda! Maxie likes Eda!" teased King in a sing song voice.

King was laughing and giggling but doing a bit of a mocking like dance as if he found the fact of Maxwell being in love with Eda to be the cutest thing he's ever heard. Maxwell couldn't believe that he found out.

"Maxie and Eda, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love." King teased in a sing song voice.

"Keep your voice down, please!" Maxwell begged.

"So you told Owlbert, huh? I actually expected you would tell Luz first because she's kind of like mama bear towards you." said King blushing. "So who else knows?"

"Owlbert, and without warning, now you know." said Maxwell with a loud hiccup.

"Who else knows what?" came a female's voice.

They turned to see Luz entering the room and she could see that Maxwell was blushing deep red. King was trying to hold in his urges to tease as he knew that Maxwell was afraid to tell anyone who he's in love with in the first place. He blushed and fidgeted with his paws and the claws on his paws.

"Nothing, we know nothing!" lied Maxwell.

Luz could see the shifty look in their eyes and the fact that Maxwell was nervous as a yappy little dog. King was trying not to look her in the eye. Owlbert looked like he was calm under pressure at this moment. Luz had a mischievous grin and a playful look in her eyes.

"Are you three talking about guy stuff again or are you hiding something?" giggled Luz.

"What?" Maxwell said nervously.

"We're not hiding anything." lied King.

Luz looked as though she could see through them and knew they were lying and hiding something. She came over to King and picked him up in her arms. King tried to remain as calm and cool under pressure as possible.

"What are you guys hiding from mama Luz?" said Luz with a grin.

"Nothing, just guy stuff." King lied nervously.

She reached out to gently rub King's belly with one finger to stroke his belly and belly button, causing King to blush so deeply and one of his legs shook. He looked as though he was being tickled but it felt good.

"Come on, cutie pie. What were you all talking about. You know you can tell me and I'll be supportive, no matter what it is." said Luz in an adorable tone.

"Ohhh Luz, I can't. Ohhh this feels so good but it's my weakness." moaned King.

Maxwell was trying to remain cool under pressure but he was horrible at it as this situation was caught off guard for a lot of them. King moaned and looked as though the pleasantly tickly sensation to his belly was making him weaker to Luz's attempt to convince him to tell her what they were talking about.

"Is it an embarrassing subject? You guys know I won't laugh at you if you need someone to talk about that with." said Luz kindly.

Maxwell remembered how supportive Luz has been to him this whole time and he always felt comfortable around her with many things such as discussing embarrassing topics but he was almost feeling as if this is the one thing he couldn't tell her. King was looking like he was in paradise from how his body felt like it was having every itch on his body being scratched and itched for him all over.

"Maxie, ohhhh, maybe we should tell her. Luz is a really sweet and understanding girl. She'll understand about how you feel about Eda." moaned King.

Hearing that suddenly had Luz stop, her heart almost skipped a beat or two. King felt his body was relaxed and he fell from her arms and landed on his feet. She turned towards a blushing and vulnerable Maxwell as he looked down at his feet.

"Wait, what?" said Luz looking surprised.

Owlbert chimed in and hooted about what was going on as he used his wings to motion towards Maxwell, King and himself as if speaking in sign language that only owls know. Luz remembered that day when King told her and Eda that he managed to help Maxwell feel better in talking about a subject that was bothering Maxwell, telling her it was just them talking about "Guy Stuff" and she remembered when King blurted out by accident that Maxwell is in love with a girl whom he never told them who she is by name. It all started to connect and she smiled.

"Are you saying you went to Owlbert to talk about this, King found out about it too and that this mystery woman your in love with is Eda?" said Luz looking giddy. "Are you saying you like Eda?"

Maxwell tried to say something but when his mouth opened, no sound came out at first. He was blushing the deepest shade of red, gulped and hiccuped loudly. She came over to him and placed her hand on his chest where his heart was located. Maxwell knew that there was no avoiding this and no lying his way out of it this time. He looked up at her.

"I...I...I do. I like Eda." Maxwell finally confessed.

Luz blushed with a sparkling and excited look in her eyes which was like her reaction when she met King. She pulled him in her arms and hugged Maxwell tightly in her arms. Maxwell felt like she was squeezing him tightly.

"Oh feliz día, bebé!" said Luz in an excited tone.

"Too tight, too tight. King, she's crushing me." said Maxwell weakly.

Luz loosened her grip on Maxwell and began to kiss him on his cheek repeatedly.

"Maxie, since when?" asked Luz.

"Since the witches daul against Lilith. The moment Eda kissed me on the lips. She gave me my first kiss." Maxwell confessed.

"Who else knows?" asked Luz hopefully.

"You, King, Owlbert. I first talked to King about it but I didn't tell him the name, than you found out, and now Owlbert." answered Maxwell.

"Looks like I too found out." chimed in Hooty. "Don't worry, I won't tell."

Maxwell felt like Hooty was giving him a word of comfort. Luz was so happy to hear this.

"Have you told Eda?" asked Luz.

"No! Please don't tell her." begged Maxwell.

He shook his head desperately as he really didn't want Luz to tell Eda.

"Por favor no se lo digas. No le digas a Eda." begged Maxwell desperately.

He shed a tear and Luz could tell this was very serious to him. She placed both hands on Maxwell's chest where his heart was located. She was doing this in an attempt to calm him.

"So your in love with Eda?" said Luz trying to calm him.

Maxwell managed to calm down enough to feel comfortable telling them this as he let out a sigh.

"She's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. My heart beats faster when I'm around her. I can't disobey her, I'd do anything for her. But..." Maxwell paused.

"But what?" said Luz curiously.

The image of Eda's face was in Maxwell's head, he was not only enchanted by Eda's powerful beauty but he did remember many times when Eda would be battling against an evil person and remembered when she was asserting authority and his body got a shocking dose of fright. He was breathing in and out in a fast rate as he shed another tear.

"I'm scared Luz. I like Eda, but I'm scared of her too." said Maxwell his voice nearly shaking.

"Your scared of Eda?" said King a bit surprised.

They saw the fright in his eyes and they knew that this was Maxwell being romantically ambivalent, he's in love with Eda and terrified of her at the same time. He nodded.

"Maxie, you know, when I first met Eda, I was a little afraid of her at first. But she showed me I got no reason to be afraid of her. The only times I would be afraid of her is when I did the conjuring spell with Willow and Gus and she found out I animated the house. When both her and King found out, I'll admit, I was so terrified of her that I felt like I was going to be killed. But the only thing she had us doing was clean the house from top to bottom. But she did say how thrilled she was about how we did this conjuring, she wanted to join us in that when ever the conjuring was to happen again. But what we learned there was that Eda may have looked scary when she found out, but the punishment she had us go through was sort of like a slap to the wrist. She did apologize for scaring me a little afterwards, even King." explained Luz as she was hoping this would comfort Maxwell.

"We may have been really irate but we couldn't believe how she was able to do such a cool conjuring yet we forgiven Luz. Who could stay mad at that little girl's sweet and adorable face. I mean come on, Luz is like a teddy bear, you just want to hug her all the time." said King kindly.

Luz blushed and smiled as King's kind words had her feeling tickled pink. Hearing them tell him this only had Maxwell feeling a little comfort but the mixed feelings of being in love and terrified were still lingering inside him.

"Maxie, do you need help with telling Eda how you feel?" asked Luz kindly.

Maxwell knew they were being very supportive but he knew that there was an idea in mind he could do in order to win Eda's heart which had him swallow his fear.

"I can't just straight up tell her. She'd laugh at me." said Maxwell looking saddened.

"Oh come on, big guy. Eda wouldn't laugh at you. When she sees you've worked up the courage to tell her, she'd be touched by the idea. When you showed confidence or when you showed rebelliousness or when you stood up to someone who was hurting you, she was fully on your side. She was cheering for you." said King remembering.

"Well, it's not that I don't want to tell her. It's just there's an idea in mind on how I want to tell her." said Maxwell.

"What idea do you have in mind to win her heart?" asked Luz curiously.

Maxwell swallowed his fear as he let out a sigh and looked right at them.

"I want to help with her curse. If I can do something to ether help get rid of her curse forever or help keep her curse at bay with the right potion that could keep it at bay for longer than a day. Maybe a week, a month, six months or even a year. Just to buy her some time so I can find a way to get rid of her curse and free her from it. Than I'd tell her. I want to tell her after I can succeed in helping her." explained Maxwell.

They looked at him with wide eyed expressions of surprise. He wanted to help Eda with her curse? Ether by getting her curse removed permanently or to keep her curse at bay for longer than a day to buy Eda some time in order to find out how to remove her curse forever. They knew that this was a big step or a big challenge that none of them ever thought of.

"Is that the only idea on your mind?" asked King.

Maxwell nodded and they knew this was serious.

"There's no talking me out of this. Eda's curse is getting worse as time goes by and the times I read her mind is telling me that. The elixir is going to no longer work at keeping her curse at bay soon, she may not want to tell us about it so we wouldn't worry but I know it's going to happen. I can't lose Eda, if we lose her, than like a building of cards once you take one of them away, we'll fall. We need Eda as much as she needs us." explained Maxwell looking serious.

Luz, King and Owlbert looked at Maxwell with stunned shock. He was able to know that Eda's elixir will one day stop working on the curse as time goes by and that her curse will become too strong for it. They could see that he knew it would happen soon but they didn't know when that'll be. Maxwell walked over to get his bag and he pulled out a vial from his bag and showed it to them.

"This is a disguise potion. I got it from Morton in the market place in town. I told him about Eda's situation and how I know her elixir will eventually no longer work on her curse. I asked him if he had anything that is stronger, even though he told me he doesn't at the moment. He told me someone who does but this person goes to the night time market once a month. The day I got it, he told me it was two weeks from that time and today is the day that I got to act. I'll use this potion in order to disguise myself so no one will recognize me. I'm doing this for Eda. I can't give up. She's done so much for us, even me. This is my chance to do something for her." Maxwell told them.

"Oh Dios mío!" said Luz shocked.

"You must really love Eda to want to do this. Aren't you afraid?" said King looking shocked.

"I'm terrified. But I think my sense of love is bigger than my sense of fear." Maxwell admitted.

Luz was feeling like she was happy to hear this as she was hoping that Maxwell would work up the courage to tell one of them who he's in love with and what he wanted to do in order to win the said lucky girls heart. But she had no idea this was what he had in mind. Owlbert felt touched by this.

"But there's just one little problem." said Maxwell.

"How are you going to pull that off?" said Luz curiously.

Owlbert hooted to get their attention and he flew up in the air and landed on Maxwell's shoulder as he started to hoot in his ear like he was whispering an idea into Maxwell's ear. He listened to him and suddenly was wide eyed at the idea.

"Owlbert, you sure that'll work?" said Maxwell.

Owlbert nodded with a serious and determined look as he nuzzled his face against Maxwell's cheek while hooting sweetly to him.

"Okay, but everyone has to stay here. I got to do this on my own. I don't want to risk anyone else's life." said Maxwell looking stoic.

"Maxie, I know you want to do this alone but it's too dangerous for you to do it alone." said Luz worried for him.

"But Luz, I don't want you to get hurt because of me." said Maxwell trying to convince her.

"Maxie, I know you don't want me getting hurt but I know you'll get hurt if you go alone." said Luz looking as though she made up her mind.

"But." he began.

Luz suddenly placed her hands on Maxwell's shoulders and Owlbert flew off his shoulder and flew over towards King and Luz pinned Maxwell to his back to the wall while she looked like she had a serious look on her face. Maxwell was now showing a bit of surprised fear from this as if he's feeling fear of Luz for the first time.

"I know your looking out for me but I'm going with you to help you. Don't argue with me, I'll watch your back and you'll watch mine. Ether I go with or I'll follow you instead. Now I'm going to help you whether you want me to or not. I'm doing this because I too care about Eda and I care about you. I'm sorry I'm getting tough but I'm helping you, understand?" said Luz sounding firm but compassionate.

"Yes mama Luz." said Maxwell becoming submissive.

"Alright, and you know mama Luz loves you and I'm sorry I had to get tough but I want to look out for you in this." said Luz know looking kind and compassionate. "Sorry you probably had a flashback of your past though."

"I understand. It's alright." said Maxwell.

Luz smiled and planted her soft lips to Maxwell's cheeks as if to show him comfort and love. Maxwell did feel loved from her actions but he felt like he was a little surprised by Luz's determination to help him. He did blush a bit from the kissing but he felt that Luz was trying to let him know she didn't mean to get tough.

"Okay, so what was Owlbert's idea on how to pull off this idea?" asked Luz.

Maxwell was about to say something but he looked towards the entrance of the hallway and saw that Eda was coming and Luz picked up on that which she released her arms and hands from him and Eda was seeing them all in the room.

"Everything alright in here? You crazy kids are not about to throw a crazy party in here?" said Eda slightly joking.

"Oh Eda, you and your jokes. We were just talking about past experiences and Maxie was hoping to get permission to sleep with me in my room. He's feeling a little lonely so he was wondering if he could spend the night with me in my room. I think he needs some bonding time with me." lied Luz.

Eda looked towards Maxwell and Luz and she sensed something was probably up but she was thinking it wasn't anything bad at all.

"Maxie, your feeling alright? I know that sickness wasn't fun for you." said Eda showing some compassion.

"I'm alright, Eda. I just feel like maybe I could use some time to bond with Luz. Could I please spend the night with her in her room?" asked Maxwell playing along.

Eda came over to them and Maxwell felt a little bit of fear returning to him. Eda reached out to place her hand on Maxwell's chest which he blushed and shook a little. Eda smiled and reached up to place her hand underneath his chin.

"Well, as long as you two behave yourselves, than I'm cool with it. But no nudity, and I mean no sleeping in the nude and if you two have to change into a pair of clothes, do that in separate rooms. You don't want to see that." said Eda advising a warning.

"Yes ma'am." said Maxwell blushing.

"I'm gonna take a nap for now." said Eda.

"Need assistance?" asked Maxwell kindly.

Eda chuckled and gently scratched underneath Maxwell's chin while it made him shake in the body from feeling like the gentle scratching underneath his chin made his body feel like every itch in his body was being scratched. Maxwell was letting out a relaxed moan.

"Sweet of you to offer but don't worry. I can crash down here. Well, for now." said Eda kindly.

After the scratching stopped, that's when Maxwell took Eda by the hand and managed to swallow his fear once again.

"Please?" asked Maxwell kindly.

The compassionate expression in his eyes nearly had Eda feel as though she could get cavities from this. She let out a sigh and yawned.

"Alrighty kiddo, but I'm only letting you because I know it's better to land on something soft instead of the hard floor and later on have a dent in my beautiful face." said Eda relenting.

Eda wrapped an arm around Maxwell as he walked her over to the couch and carefully laid her on her side to the comfortable couch, pulling a big and comfortable pillow down for her to lay her head on.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be down here." said Eda with a yawn.

"Understood." said Luz and Maxwell.

Luz, King and Maxwell left the room and before Maxwell left, he looked at Owlbert and gave him a wink. Owlbert winked back at him, showing him the same trust and the same caring nature he shows Luz. Maxwell left the room with Luz and King. As they walked down the hallway, they were wondering how else to make this plan work out.

"How do we make this plan work with Eda in the living room?" whispered Luz.

"I know another way. Follow me." whispered Maxwell.

They walked down the hallway and reached the kitchen, they turned a corner and Maxwell lead them up the stairs that lead up to the rooftop of the tower. They looked down from the tower to the ground. Luz and King were wondering how to get down.

"A bit of a drop from here." said Luz.

"Sure is." said King agreeing with her.

They looked at Maxwell and he looked back at them with a smile. They caught onto what sort of idea he had in mind. He went to offer his hand out to Luz.

"Do you trust me?" said Maxwell.

"Yes." said Luz looking nervous.

"Than carry King in your arms." instructed Maxwell.

Luz obeyed and scooped up King in her arms. Than Maxwell placed his hand around Luz's waist. He would scoop them up into his arms as he was now carrying Luz in his arms, bridal style while King and Luz held onto each other.

"Are we gonna jump?" asked Luz looking nervous.

"Just hang on tight." instructed Maxwell.

Luz and King were both nervous but Maxwell suddenly teleported in a gold puff of smoke. Than he reappeared on the ground and he carefully set Luz down on her feet and she kept carrying King in her arms. They let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry I startled you guys." said Maxwell apologetically.

"Next time, give us a heads up warning." King advised kindly.

"Understood and sorry about the scare." said Maxwell kindly.

"No sweat, big boy." said Luz kindly forgiving him.

Maxwell took the vial from his pocket and took the stopped off it and downed it as it tasted like a passion fruit juice as he downed it completely. He placed the vial in his pocket as his body was tingling all over and he felt like he grew taller but his hair turned brown and his hair formed to became curly looking and his skin color went from Caucasian to looking like he was an African American man who appeared to be looking like he went from a teenager to looking like a forty year old man with his ears forming to look pointy and his body looked a bit more thickly muscular as if he appeared to be a hulking body builder.

"Wow! Your a black guy." said Luz looking surprised.

"I'm black?" said Maxwell shocked.

Maxwell looked at his hands and felt his hair as he sees his hair looking long and curly.

"My hair looks like I got a perm." said Maxwell surprised. "So this is what it's like to be taller."

Maxwell knew they had no time to waste as he lead the way by holding onto Luz's hand. King cleared his throat.

"Maxie, I know where the night market is. Follow where I say we should go." instructed King.

"Understood. If any asks, your my niece and I'm your uncle." Maxwell informed.

They nodded and walked towards the town as Maxwell knew that this is going to be dangerous, risky and if Eda found out, they'd be in for it one way or another. They had one hour before the potion would wear off.


	30. Chapter 30

Thirty minutes have gone by and both Maxwell, Luz and King were walking around the night market, keeping close to each other. It looked like the market place they often go to but it was different. People working there at certain hours of the night and many of the people looked like they were trying to keep what they do a secret from anyone who could catch anything illegal happening there.

"I've never been to the night market before. It looks so different." said Luz looking around with her eyes shifting around.

"Neither have I but King did inform us to be careful of pick pockets." said Maxwell remembering.

"Just avoid interacting with anyone here and we should be alright." warned King.

They walked down one corner and stopped. King was looking around to see which stand was the right one they should go to but he remained next to them.

"So far, not a lot of them look like what we're looking for. You sure Morton didn't say who to find?" said King curiously.

"From what I saw in his mind. I didn't see who, he just told me who. No names, he just told me he's neutral and very secretive. He's kept his identity a secret from the Emperor and his coven. All I know is it's a man." Maxwell informed.

As they were about to walk, they turned to see a cloaked and hooded figure coming towards them as it stopped three feet away from them.

"Hey there, you lot look like you could be interested in some fine diamonds and gold." came the figure's deep and raspy voice.

"Back off." warned Maxwell mimicking a deep and gruff male's voice.

"Are you sure your not interested in a pretty piece of jewelry for that special someone? Your little girl looks like she could do good with some bling to impress a boy." said the male figure looking at Luz.

Maxwell reached out and took hold of the male figure by the front of his clothing, pulling him towards his face as the hood slipped off and revealed the male's face. The male looked to be a pale faced orc. Maxwell had a very serious look on his face.

"Back off, asshole! Unless you can help us find someone we're looking for, than beat it!" said Maxwell harshly. "You leave my niece alone or I'll kick your ass!"

"Alright, alright! I'll leave your little girl alone." said the male orc looking intimidated. "But if your needing help looking for someone, than I'm your guy."

"Give us one reason why we should trust and listen to you." argued Maxwell.

"Because I know every single person who does business in the night time market. Those who are new here think of me as a guide." said the male orc looking as though he was trying to appeal to his better nature.

They looked at him with silence but Maxwell released his hand from the orc. He let out a sigh of relief but dusted the orc off with one free hand.

"If you lead us into a trap or lie. If anything happens to my niece." warned Maxwell.

"I promise I won't do any of that." said the orc trying to reassure them.

They looked around and back at the male orc. Maxwell pulled the orc close to them and whispered to him what they were looking for but he was keeping it very secretive about a few details. A wide eyed look of surprise came over the orc's face after Maxwell pulled away.

"If your looking for that, than you'll be looking for someone by the name of Braxius." the orc told them in a whisper.

"Where is he?" said Maxwell whispering back.

"He's over there. That stand with the shiny silver ball hanging above it." said the orc pointing it out.

They looked over in the direction the orc pointed at and saw the stand. It had what looked like a disco ball hanging above it. They looked back at the orc.

"You better not be wrong about this. My niece and I are very close, and her little friend is one of her best friends. I don't want any harm coming to them. That's why I'm in papa bear mode here. Also, stay away from drugs and alcohol, no smoking ether. You got it?" said Maxwell showing some subtle compassion.

"I'll keep that in mind, sir." said the orc looking confused.

"Alright, as you were." said Maxwell calmly.

Maxwell, Luz and King walked off as the orc male pulled his hood back up and walked off as well. Maxwell let out a sigh.

"I really didn't like doing that but that guy could've been someone we didn't want to tango with." said Maxwell in his normal voice.

"You had him shaking in his boots." said King looking thrilled.

Luz smiled and briefly hugged Maxwell as they made it to the stand that the orc male had told them about. The person who ran the stand looked as though he was playing old fashioned disco music on a radio he had on him.

"Sir, could you help us?" called Luz. "Are you Braxius?"

The person than turned the radio off as he was probably a tall man who was wearing black, he wore a metal mask that covered most of his face but not his mouth area. He looked like he had a small beard and mustache. He had a deep but soothing voice.

"Are you here for an appointment, young lady?" asked Braxius.

"No, we're just here for business reasons." said Luz kindly.

"I usually have people do business with me if they make an appointment, well, most of the time that is." said Braxius.

"Than maybe you could help us?" said Maxwell mimicking the deep and gruff male's voice he did earlier.

Braxius looked at them with interest but he also looked as though Maxwell's disguised form was a bit intimidating.

"Okay. Sir, is this little girl with you?" asked Braxius.

"She's my niece. This little guy is her best friend. I'm her uncle." said Maxwell.

Maxwell motioned him to come closer with his hand. Braxius leaned in closer to him and listened.

_"I'm looking for something that is able to cure any and all curses. Someone we know has been cursed for a while and we see the curse is getting worse as time passes. The elixir that our friend is using works but it's starting to show it might not work on our friend's curse anymore as time passes. Do you have anything that can work on a curse that becomes too strong for anything that people use elixirs on them for?"_ said Maxwell talking to him through his mind.

Braxius's eyes through his mask looked surprised but also intrigued.

_"Just so you know. I can tell if your lying."_ Maxwell told him through his mind.

"What sort of curse are we talking about?" Braxius whispered.

_"The curse is same as the curse of the owl lady."_ said Maxwell through his mind to him.

Braxius's eyes looked wide from shock and he looked around to make sure no one else was listening to them or seeing them. To their luck, they were alright in that. He looked back at the three.

"I got something but it's a potion. A very simple but very powerful and strong brew. I should tell you that it's been considered experimental but we've tested it out before and it works. But it will only last a month on those who take it." said Braxius explaining it to them.

Hearing this made Maxwell's heart feel like it was jumping rope for double dutch. He knew he really wanted to remove Eda's curse permanently but if a potion could keep her curse at bay for a whole month? Than that could by them some time for Eda. He was thinking of Eda and how she'd feel if she would have her curse kept at bay for a whole month, he could imagine how happy she'd be, even if it was for a whole month, he felt that could give them some time to help Eda with her curse till they could find a way to remove the curse forever. He let out a sigh and tried to remain stoic.

_"I'll take it."_ said Maxwell breaking the silence.

"Before I do, I should tell you that in order for it to work on the person who uses it. If they take any other elixirs for their curse, than they have to wait till the current elixir is showing signs of wearing off. If they take it while an elixir is still in their system, than it won't work." Braxius explained.

"Understood." said Maxwell out loud. "How much for it?"

"Since your new to this or a new customer that is, I'm offering to let you have it for free this time. With all my customers, I give them a free trial of anything I sell when ever they're coming to me for the first time. But if they come to me a second time or more is when I start charging. I'd normall charge at least twenty-five snails for this but since your shopping here for the first time. It's free of charge." explained Braxius.

Maxwell nearly fainted from hearing this. He wrapped an arm around the masked man and hugged him in one arm. His voice shook as he shed a tear from how much of a miracle this felt to him. This left Braxius to be taken-aback a bit.

"Thank the lord for you." whispered Maxwell in a shaky voice.

Maxwell removed his arm from him and pulled himself back. Braxius pulled out a small bag that had the potion in it. He gave it to Maxwell and as he took it, he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Forgive me, I'm just very grateful." said Maxwell calming down.

"Nothing to worry about. But you should know, since my identity is unknown to the Emperor and his coven. You should tell no one of our business but if you are to tell anyone, than only tell the one your giving the potion to. But no one else." warned Braxius.

"You have our word, Braxy." said Luz with a salute.

"I like this girl. She's sweet and adorable. I'd love to pinch her cheeks but only family should do that. Strangers that do it, they'd probably get knocked out by their folks." said Braxius as if knowing what he shouldn't do.

"Oh your sweet." said Luz giggling and blushing.

"Thank you, if anyone asks. You were just giving a potion to someone to cure food poisoning." said Maxwell.

Braxius nodded and that's when Maxwell, King and Luz walked off while keeping close to each other.

"That wasn't so bad." said King.

"I can't believe it. We're actually going to make this work." said Maxwell in his normal voice as he looked shocked with joy.

"It might only last a month but it's better than nothing. It was really kind of him to offer it to you for free this time." said Luz with a grin.

Maxwell was just about to raise a fist in the air to show off a victory dance but just as his arm and hand raised up, that's when a large gryphon flew by and grabbed hold of the bag he was holding, pulling it out from his grip. They saw it flying away.

"Oh hell no." growled Maxwell.

Their chances of helping Eda with her curse was flying away but Maxwell had an idea in mind.

"I got an idea on how get it back. We've come too far to give up now." said Maxwell looking determined.

Luz and King wondered what Maxwell had in mind but they got their answer when he snapped his fingers twice and gently tapped his hand once on his own stomach, than Luz and King's stomach.

"Jiki atatchimento." said Maxwell quickly.

Without warning, Luz's body acted like a magnet to metal as her back was magnetized to Maxwell's stomach and King's body did the same as his back magnetized to Luz's stomach. They were looking like they were being carried around like a baby in a baby carrier that was attached to someone's shirt. Maxwell formed a huge pair of black wings on his back and the wings flapped once and he started to fly into the air as fast as he could towards the gryphon. He was catching up to the gryphon while Luz was looking excited that she was flying in the air this way.

"This is so cool." called Luz looking thrilled.

"Hang on tight! If we're lucky, we don't have to make that gryphon end up like a turkey on thanksgiving, roasted." called Maxwell.

He flew towards the gryphon and tried to reach for the bag but the gryphon had a death grip on it.

"Can't you rip the bag out of it's grasp?" suggested Luz.

"No, it'll rip the bag open and risk the potion falling to the ground." called Maxwell.

Maxwell suddenly had an idea but he knew that this one would be risky.

"Cover your ears." instructed Maxwell.

Luz and King covered their ears as they knew not to question Maxwell right now. Maxwell let out a scream so loud that it was at sonic levels and the gryphon screeched out loud, trying to keep it's flight pattern straight but was struggling.

"Wow! That's loud." called Luz.

The gryphon had tried to keep it's focus but lost it's grip on the bag. They saw the bag falling towards the forest and Maxwell flew towards it as fast as he could but the bag seemed to be falling faster as it landed somewhere in the forest they saw but they heard no landing. After he stopped screaming was when Maxwell suddenly flew gently down to the ground and as he landed on his feet, that's when he snapped his fingers and both Luz and King detached from each other and from Maxwell.

"That was so cool. But I know now is not the time." said Luz.

They turned to see Maxwell as the potion he used on himself wore off and he shifted back into his original and true appearance. His hair, skin, height, body type, every part of his disguised form shifted back to his original and true form. He was back to looking human. They turned towards the forest as they walked down the path that lead inside it.

"Maxie, have you ever been in a forest before?" asked King curiously.

"Once, but technically, it was more of a corn field on a farm that one of my classes had taken a field trip to. We were learning about agriculture that day." Maxwell told them.

"So technically, no." said King getting technical.

"You got it." said Maxwell sadly.

They walked down a trail that was leading them somewhere. Luz on one hand was familair with the path so she lead the way.

"Maxie, I remember being here before so just let me lead the way." said Luz kindly instructing.

"You've met the bat queen? Madame Yi Yi." said Maxwell.

They stopped and looked at Maxwell with surprise. How did Maxwell know about the bat queen? They could only guess.

"I have to confess. I heard of her but read your mind through your memories and I'll admit, it was rude of me to do that but when delving into someone's mind. I tend to see a bit more than intended sometimes." Maxwell confessed. "I'm sorry I did that."

"Well, I agree it is a bit rude to delve into someone's mind a lot but at least your apologizing for it. Curiosity is not a bad thing but we can talk about a lot about things you want to know through our lips. Only use your mind reading for when you have to." Luz kindly suggested.

"Yes Luz." said Maxwell being submissive.

Luz took hold of Maxwell's hand but just as they were about to walk off, they heard some squeaking sounds that were animal like. Maxwell and King saw where the sounds came from and when Luz turned to see who or what it was, she smiled to see that it was three young bat children that are the bat queen's children.

"They're here children, are they?" asked Maxwell looking alert.

"Yep, we babysat them before. They so cute." said Luz with a grin.

Luz was about to reach her hand out to them but Maxwell intervened by stepping in front of her and letting go of her hand.

"Wait, I got an idea on how to approach this." suggested Maxwell. "Please, can I try this out?"

Luz could see that Maxwell was determined but also looking out for them. She nodded and let Maxwell take the lead. Maxwell turned to the three bat children.

"Children, we need to see your mama. We need to talk to her about something. I know you probably are not much of a fan of us right now but we have to talk to your mama." Maxwell spoke to them in a soft tone.

Maxwell reached inside his pocket and pulled out what looked like an apple and he tossed it up into the air and once it was about to fall back down, he quickly used his hand to slice at it like a knife and he grabbed it, holding three large apple slices. He gently tossed one to each one of them. The three bat children showed an eager grin and went for them. Each one of them devoured an apple slice of their own and felt satisfied to each a juicy apple. Luz and King smiled from seeing how Maxwell was handling this.

"Ohhh Maxie, you have a way with kids." said Luz looking adored by this.

"I'm not completely good with kids, but some of them I have an understanding with. Just depends on the kid." Maxwell confessed.

The three bat children looked towards them with a peaceful expression as Maxwell, King and Luz looked back.

"Children, these two are my friends, they're good people and so am I. Can you take us to your mama?" Maxwell softly asked.

The three bat children looked at each other and back at them, they started to walk off but one of them waved one of their bat wings to signal them. Maxwell, Luz and King followed them. As they walked and followed, they could hear their own foot steps making crunching sounds.

"Maxie, how did you know they liked apple slices?" asked King curiously.

"Lets just say I talked to Eda about her opinion on babysitting and she told me her experience with babysitting the bat queen's kids. She didn't go into too much detail but she told me they sure do love apple slices." explained Maxwell.

They continued to follow the three bat children and they lead them to the nest that they live in and where the bat queen lives with them. They didn't see the bat queen anywhere. They looked towards the three bat children who were showing a sign of trust towards them.

"Hey cuties, where's your mama?" asked Luz kindly.

They looked at Luz and shrugged their wings as they looked clueless. They didn't know where she was at.

"Do you know when she'll be back?" asked Luz.

The three little bat younglings were making motions with their wings as if to tell them how long it'll be till their mother is back. They seem to understand they meant she'll be back shortly. They looked up and they saw the bag that they had hanging by a branch of a tree. The branch was large, thick and strong as it looked like it was tied up to the branch but it was a couple of inches above the center of the nest. Maxwell felt happy to see where the bag was but he turned to Luz.

"Luz, is the bat queen kind to you?" asked Maxwell curiously.

"Well, things were not so good between us at first but she warmed up to me thanks to Owlbert showing he cares about me." answered Luz.

They could see that Maxwell was trying not to give into to fear or his shyness which Luz placed her hand on his chest.

"Are you afraid of the bat queen?" asked Luz.

"Right now, the potion in that bag is the only way we can help Eda with her curse and if it gets destroyed, than it's going to break my heart. That, and we don't have much time before Eda senses something is up. I already didn't like having to lie to Eda and if I were to go up there and grab the bag while I got caught, than Madame Yi Yi will think I'm a thief and rip me to shreds. I don't want her angry at me but at the same time we need that bag now." explained Maxwell.

Luz and King could tell that Maxwell was a little afraid but he was also showing that he wanted to get the bat queen's permission to get the bag back by getting her blessing. They knew he wanted to do this peacefully.

"Maxie, we know your afraid of the bat queen but if we tell her the truth, she'll understand." said Luz reassuring him.

"I hope so." said Maxwell.

"What if she doesn't comply?" said King looking worried.

"We'll think of something." said Maxwell looking determined.

They knew that they had to get that bag back but also had to be sure they didn't anger the bat queen. They knew that they didn't have much time since they snuck out and Eda could find out what they're doing. Maxwell was also thinking of an idea that could make things easier and faster but he knew it probably wouldn't work but he had to try something.

"Madame Yi Yi." Maxwell called out.

They saw no response but Maxwell knew that their time was running out. He looked towards the kids and back at the bag and back at the three little bat children. He let out a sigh. He walked forwards a bit as he reached the center of the lair and stopped, he knew that they couldn't be out there for too long or they'd risk Eda finding out what they're up to. He really didn't want to anger the bat queen and he really didn't want to anger Eda ether. He turned around to face Luz, King and the three bat children.

"Maxie, why don't I get it." suggested Luz.

"Bad idea. How irate would you think she'd be if I was to go up there and snatch the bag? I don't want to anger her but I also know we need that bag. I want to help Eda but at the same time, I really don't want to anger the bat queen. She'll think I'm a thief if I go up there to grab it. What am I suppose to do?" said Maxwell confused for a solution.

"Why don't you ask her." came a female's voice.

The female's voice sounded like it had a thick eastern European accent. There was a gust of wind and a loud thud from behind Maxwell along with a towering shadow above him from at least three feet away. Maxwell had a very wide eyed expression on his face as his mind and heart was being filled with fear and alarm. Luz and King were surprised and shocked to see her at this moment as her large appearance was always startling at first.

"She's right behind me, isn't she?" said Maxwell.

Luz and King nodded. Maxwell didn't move, he was too afraid to turn around.

"Another human? But this one is male." came Yi Yi's voice. "Turn around and face me."

Maxwell had an idea in mind, despite that he was terrified. He breathed a sigh and in one swift move, he turned around and bowed in front of her as he had sat on one knee with one leg sitting up, his head bowing.

"Venim in pace! Venim in pace!" Maxwell spoke quickly.

The bat queen was taken-aback by this reaction but she still looked like she had a strict expression on her face.

"Am venit pentru asistență, permisiune și binecuvântare." Maxwell spoke again.

Luz and King were surprised at how bilingual Maxwell appears to be and the bat queen seem to understand the language he spoke to her.

"Ridică-te, băiețel uman." said Yi Yi.

Maxwell slowly rised up and stood up straight, looking up at her as he sees she is a giant head with an Asian characteristics and long greasy black hair. She has bat wings, fangs and talons. She had a human head with legs connected to her. She had black lips, and red eyes. Maxwell was shaking a bit from fear of her.

"Your here for a reason?" said Yi Yi staring him down.

"Madame Yi Yi, the bat queen. The wealthiest demon on the Boiling Isles, once a palisman to a giant thousands of years ago yet the giant abandoned you. You have no memory of who this giant is that was once your owner, your the guardian of other abandoned, discarded and forgotten palisman. You got three cute little kids and you'd do anything to keep them safe, protected and cared for. You, Luz and her friends befriended each other after a brutal trial which Luz appealed to your better nature and now she's become your friend and wants to help you too when you need it." said Maxwell.

This was a surprised to the bat queen. She expected him to know a little bit about her from what other people have said and talked about but she didn't expect a human male like Maxwell to know all of this about her when they've never met nor knew each other existed till now. She looked right at him with slight alarm.

"How is it your?" she began.

"Your mind isn't a closed book. But I know reading your mind is incrediby rude of me and I apologize for that." said Maxwell kindly.

The bat queen was looking as though she could sense that something about Maxwell was up. She didn't know if he was kissing up or if he was telling the truth.

"Bat queen, he's with me." called Luz.

She looked up and saw Luz, a small smile spreading across her large face.

"I see you've brought the sweet, innocent human girl. She got a big heart." said Yi Yi kindly.

"Luz can do no wrong." Maxwell stated. "We're here for a reason, but I'm afraid I need to get your permission for it. I only go inside someone else's home unless I got their permission first."

The bat queen looked right at Maxwell as she had her smile change back to stoic. She was looking serious.

"I'm listening." Yi Yi stated.

Maxwell let out a sigh.

"That small bag you got hanging over there. It belongs to us. It's got something inside it that we really need. Or at least someone we know needs it. We had to get it from the night time market as it was the only way to get it at the time." explained Maxwell.

As she listened to Maxwell, she was aware that something was inside the bag but she sensed something wasn't right at first.

"Who are you getting this for?" asked Yi Yi curiously.

"Eda, it's for Eda." said Maxwell softly.

"How do I know your not lying? I trust little human girl with big heart, but you, something looks fishy." said Yi Yi firmly.

"I beg of you. Eda really needs it." Maxwell kindly begged.

Luz, King and the three bat children walked towards them as they see that they may need to intervene. The bat queen was not trusting Maxwell as she sensed he was lying or hiding something.

"Are you telling me the truth? For all I know, that bag could have something dangerous inside and you'd use it to attack me or my babies." Yi Yi scolded.

"I would never harm a lady or children." said Maxwell starting to get frantic.

"Unless you prove to me that your telling the truth, your not going anywhere near the nest to get the bag." said Yi Yi sharply.

"You don't understand." Maxwell replied.

Maxwell looked as though he was about to break down. He felt the results of him helping Eda was being ripped away from him in a foul swoop.

"What's there to understand?" said Yi Yi in a huff.

"She'll die without it!" shouted Maxwell.

The bat queen suddenly felt a sense of shock go straight to her mind and heart as Maxwell fell to his knees, he was close to breaking down in tears, ready to start bawling.

"Wait, what?" said Yi Yi taken-aback.

"That bag has a potion that'll help Eda with her curse, the elixir she's using is going to stop working soon and that potion in that bag is her only chance, we're desperate, these people are all I've got, I can't go back to the human realm or I'll be good as dead. If you don't give it back to us than you're going to responsible for someone's death. You don't want that over your head." Maxwell pleaded.

Without warning, the three bat children rushed to Maxwell's side and looked up at their own mother with a look of disapproval. They were squeaking and screeching at her as if talking to her in the language of the bats. The bat queen was shocked to see this. She saw her own children sticking up for Maxwell, a human child. She saw her own children begin to go up and hug Maxwell, Luz and King, patting Maxwell on his back to console him, one of them hugged King and another would even hug Luz from her leg. After doing so, the three bat children walked up to their own mother and looked as though they were reading her the riot act for the sake of Maxwell, Luz and King.

"You've warmed up to the human male? As you did with little human girl and her friend?" said Yi Yi shocked.

The three bat children nodded. Maxwell looked up and couldn't believe that three little children were taking his side along with his friends. The bat queen looked at Maxwell, seeing his face was stained with tears. Seeing the desperate look on his face nearly broke her heart.

"Bat queen, he's telling the truth." Luz reassured.

The bat queen looked at both Luz and Maxwell, than she had her face go from shock to pity.

"Little human boy. My children speak highly of you and your friends. I see you've given them one of their favorite treats. Tell me, why you do this for owl lady?" asked Yi Yi curiously.

Maxwell managed to pull himself together enough to get up on his feet and look her in the face.

"Back at home, I had nothing. I had no one. Life was horrible for me. I took off because I knew that if I stayed, it would be a death sentence. The way I stumbled upon this world was only through luck, sheer dumb luck. Eda, Luz and King had rescued me from death, so many times. They're the first people who treated me with any love, I'm actually making friends in this world, I can't lose them. They're all I've got." explained Maxwell.

Hearing this was probably able to break anyone's heart but the bat queen was feeling pity for him as if she knew how he felt.

"You speak out of love for these people. Such tenderness yet you do this for another reason for owl lady." said Yi Yi softly.

"I fell in love. I'm in love with Eda, she given me my first kiss, just like Luz and King and Luz's friends, they've forgiven me for any other time I messed up, they've shown me love, they understood me, held me when I was terrified, encouraged me when I was feeling depressed, they've made me laugh when I felt down, picked me up when I was down. They supported me and did so much for me, it was more than my dad ever did for me. I want to help Eda, she doesn't deserve to be cursed, I think I may know who cursed her and I want to remove the curse from Eda. I'd do anything for her, I could never disobey her, I want to help her, regardless if she told me no or if she told me it's too dangerous. I still want to help her. Wouldn't you do anything for your kids?" explained Maxwell.

The bat queen was stunned, she had no idea that a human like Maxwell had fallen in love with Eda, from what he told her, she couldn't believe it but she understood he was right about something. She nodded.

"How much do you love this woman? Even the little human girl and her friends?" asked Yi Yi.

As Maxwell wiped the tears from his face and his eyes. He had a look of determination on his face.

"As muri pentru ei." said Maxwell.

The bat queen looked as though hearing this could have her fall to her knees. She extended her wing out to Maxwell and placed it on his shoulder as if to show her trust and compassion towards him.

"You must really love Eda to do this for her and you must really love these friends of yours, they must really love you to help you in this." said Yi Yi.

Luz took hold of Maxwell's hand and King hugged around Maxwell's leg. This was proof to the bat queen that they really meant what they've said.

"Little human boy, forgive me for how harsh I was. If you've gained the respect, support and trust of my children, as your friends have, than you have mine." said Yi Yi kindly.

Maxwell felt a huge relief wash over him like he was being warmed up in cold weather conditions. He came forwards and hugged the bat queen as his face pressed against her cheek.

"Thank the lord for you. Thank the lord." said Maxwell relieved.

The bat queen allowed him to hug her as she knew he had to let it out. After the hugging stopped, that's when the bat queen flew up to grab the bag and flew back to the ground, giving it back to Maxwell. As he took it, he felt like a huge weight was lifted off him.

"Madame Yi Yi, even though Luz has told you that if you ever want to find out the truth about who your owner was or where this person is or anything. If Luz and her friends are wanting to help you when you want to learn the truth, than I'm in." said Maxwell kindly. "Your kids, they're as beautiful as their mother."

A blushing smile appeared on the bat queen's face and she went in to plant a big lipped kiss to Maxwell's cheeks, causing him to blush wide eyed and she even gave a soft kiss to Luz's cheeks, causing her to chuckle, she even kissed King's forehead, causing him to blush and giggle.

"Such kindness in your hearts. You do know that trying to remove a curse is going to be dangerous." said Yi Yi kindly warning them.

"We do, but we'd do it for Eda." said Luz understanding it.

"Thanks for giving us the bag back. How did it end up here?" asked Maxwell curiously.

"I caught it in the air before it would land on the ground." answered Yi Yi. "I made sure that nothing was broken."

"I'm grateful." said Maxwell.

The bat queen smiled and kissed Maxwell, Luz and King one last time as they walked away, they all waved good bye to each other. As Maxwell, Luz and King walked down the path, Luz and King would hug Maxwell, each one giving him a kiss to his cheeks, even if Luz had to hold King in her arms in order to do so. Maxwell was blushing a lot.

"I think she's warmed up to you, just like her babies." said Luz with a giggle.

"You think so?" said Maxwell with a hiccup.

"With her kissing you and how her kids warmed up to you just like they did us, I think you melted her heart." said King encouraging him.

Maxwell's heart was beating happily. He finally had the one thing to help Eda with her curse and was one step closer. He suddenly realized that the time they've been gone had caught up with him.

"Don't mean to cut this short but we got to get back. If Eda finds out we snuck out, than she'll be madder than the Bruce Banner when he turns into the hulk." said Maxwell reminding them.

"But even if we run there, we'll never make it on foot." said King.

Maxwell suddenly had an idea as they've stopped.

"Hold onto me guys. I know a faster way." instructed Maxwell.

Luz and King nodded and obeyed. Luz would wrap her arms around Maxwell and King would wrap his arms around Maxwell's leg. They held onto him and they teleported as they disappeared in a puff of gold smoke. It felt like they were flying but once they reappeared at the house, they reappeared in a puff of gold smoke on top of the rooftop from the tower. They released their arms from each other and opened the door to the tower rooftop. As they closed it, they walked down the stairs, turned one way down the hallway, made it up the stairs to the second floor and walked inside Luz's bedroom as they closed the door.

"Hey you little rascals? Everything okay up there?" came Eda's voice.

"We got to work fast." said Luz.

They heard Eda's foot steps coming and Maxwell gave the bag to Luz, she placed it inside her backpack and the three of them sat down near Luz's sleeping bag. Luz pulled Maxwell in her arms and placed her hand on his stomach, she started to rub his belly as if to relax him. She winked at him with a grin and Maxwell seem to catch on as he would lay his head on her shoulder, pretending that he was getting sleepy. King was about to go towards the door but Eda knocked on the door, opening the door to walk in.

"Everything okay up here? It's been really quiet up here." asked Eda.

"Eda, not so loud. He's falling asleep." said King in a hushed tone.

Eda looked up and saw that Maxwell's eyes were slowly blinking as his head was slowly nodding off. She saw Luz rubbing his belly and holding him in her arms. She giggled at the sight.

"The little champ was out like a light. He's cute when he's alseep." said Luz softly.

"You guys look like you got a dirty little secret." joked Eda.

Luz and King looked towards her as they tried not to freak out and remain calm under pressure. Than Eda chuckled.

"I'm just messing you guys." said Eda laughing. "Luz, you guys sure your alright?"

"Maxie and I started talking about our hobbies and related to a few of them, but than later on, he just got sleepy and he passed right out." lied Luz with a grin.

Eda looked right at them and even King. She sensed something was possibly up but she brushed it off as she knew it was probably late to get into the subject. She came in and gave them an affectionate head patting with a grin.

"He is rather cute when he's asleep. Even you look cute when your asleep, Luz." said Eda kindly. "But while you two sleep in here for now, you might want to make sure there's a bit of distance. Just in case Maxie ends up floating in the air in the morning."

"I'll do that." said Luz.

Eda reached out to briefly tickle Luz's stomach which caused her to chuckle and squirm.

"Your ticklish." giggled Eda.

As Eda was walking towards the door and about to leave the room, she turned towards them.

"You guys sleep tight. Kiss and make up now." joked Eda.

"Wait, what?" said Luz blushing.

"Just messing with you." said Eda chuckling. "Good night, you guys."

"Night." said Luz and King.

As Eda closed the door. They all let out a sigh or relief.

"That was close." said King relieved.

They turned to Maxwell as he was wide awake for now.

"Guys, do you think Eda will like me back?" asked Maxwell curiously.

"After what your going to do for her? There's no way she'd shoot down now." Luz reassured kindly.

"I really wanted to remove the curse permanently, but so far, that potion will last a month. I just hope that'll by her some time long enough for us to find a way to get the curse removed completely." said Maxwell hopefully.

"Well, even if it's a temporary solution, a temporary one is better than nothing." said King kindly.

Maxwell did agree with them yet he was still wondering how to tell Eda how he felt.

"How would I tell her? How would tell Eda how I feel?" asked Maxwell.

"Just be honest with her. That's always a good way to start." suggested King.

"What if I'm too afraid to tell her? I don't how to start off with it." said Maxwell looking hopeful for a solution from them.

They were thinking of an idea or more and they knew that there was one thing that he showed confidence in himself from.

"Maxie, what's the one thing that you had confidence from? Even before you met us." asked Luz.

Maxwell was thinking and he remembered. The times he did a musical performance with them male teenage wizards at the market place, the musical performance he did at Hexside when he showed who was possibly more popular, the song he briefly played and sang out to on the tower rooftop, the song he rapped out to when he was defending Eda, Luz and everyone at Hexside when they knocked that vampire around.

"It was music. Even back at home, that's what gave me a confidence boost but back than, it was hardly for working up the courage to do what you guys helped me to do. With you guys encouraging and supporting me, I felt like I can do anything, even when the music inspires me." said Maxwell breaking the silence.

"Well, than there ya go, big boy. Use music to serenade Eda." advised King.

Maxwell nodded and pulled them in for a hug as he felt so grateful for their help. They hugged him back. They started to feel sleepy and knew it was time for bed.

"Guys, thanks for helping me through this. I haven't had anyone do so much for me since my mother." said Maxwell softly.

"Anything for our Maxie waxie." said Luz and King.

He blushed and they began to lay down on the soft sleeping bag while Luz laid Maxwell on his back to the sleeping bag, she got up on top of Maxwell to lay on top of him while King would sleep at the foot of the sleeping bag.

"Luz, will you hold me?" asked Maxwell.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around Maxwell, she laid her head against his chest. Luz looked up and planted her soft lips to Maxwell's lips. This got him to go wide eyed with his heart racing a bit. She held the kiss to his lips for a minute or more and eventually pulled her soft lips off his in a little pop. Maxwell blushed and fell asleep.

"Dulces sueños, chico grande." whispered Luz.

As they were fast asleep. That night, Maxwell was having a dream about how he would win Eda's heart. He would be confessing his feelings to her, telling her what he did to help her and what he went through in order to do so. He would imagine that Eda was surprised but as happy as she's ever been, resulting in her pulling him in for a big kiss to her lips, resulting in them making out. He smiled as he dreamed this. He knew that thanks to Luz, King, Owlbert and Hooty, their encouragement and their help, he was one step closer to helping Eda.


	31. Chapter 31

A couple of days have gone by and Maxwell felt like he was full of hope and happiness inside but he still had the same emotions showing on the outside. Trying to remain calm and at times, looking as though he was nervous about how to tell Eda how he feels about her. During one of them days, he was having a flower in one hand and pulling each petal out and with each petal he pulled out, he would say "I tell her" or "I don't tell her" and when he reached the last flower petal, he smiled as he saw it was the last petal that mean he tells her.

"I tell her." said Maxwell excitedly.

As the two days have gone by, that was when Maxwell took the time to rehearsed what he'd say or do as he was going to try and work up the courage to tell Eda how he felt about her. By the second day was when Eda, Luz, King and Maxwell were at the playground. There was a sign outside the playground's entrance that read "The Bone Zone"

There were some kids playing around at the playground, they were not human kids as some of them looked like they'd be witches one day and some of them were odd looking demons. All of them looked to be at age five or six. Somewhere in the playground was a sign that read "All Bloodthirsty Monsters Must Be Leashed"

Eda and Luz sat down on a nearby bench, King was playing around at the playground area while Maxwell was standing next to them. Maxwell was looking right at King but for some reason, every face he saw looked like Eda's face, he would have to blink twice in order to see that he was only imagining that he saw her face on someone else's face. It would seem that all that was on his mind was Eda, her beautiful face was all that he could see but he would at least try to clear his head.

"What if he gets hurt? What if the kids are mean to him?" said Luz gasping and looking frantic. "My parental instincts are freaking out, man."

"He's fine. Look at him." said Eda looking relaxed.

They saw that King was crawling his way up the slide as if trying to see if he could actually go up it. He was looking like he did it for a dare or was dared to do it.

"It does look like he's having fun. Aw. I wonder what cute little game he's playing." said Luz cutely.

As they watched King playing around, that's when Luz looked towards Maxwell.

"Maxie, you ever been to a playground before?" asked Luz curiously.

Maxwell was ignoring Luz as he was thinking of Eda and how to tell her how he feels. He had been thinking of many ideas on how to do it and each idea had somewhat of a chance of working. He was thinking of which ideas to try out and which ones that wouldn't as if he was narrowing it down.

"Maxie, hello, earth to Maxie." said Luz trying to get his attention.

Maxwell was unresponsive as if his head was somewhere off in another world. Eda smiled as if something entered her head.

"I got an idea on how to bring him out of that trance." said Eda.

"Eda, what are you going to do?" asked Luz curiously.

Eda reached her hand out and began to place it on Maxwell's belly as she was close enough to pull him in for a one armed hug. She began to tickle Maxwell's soft and sensitive belly which got him squirming and laughing.

"Ticke tickle." teased Eda giggling.

"Hahahahahaha. Quit it." laughed Maxwell.

Eda kept tickling Maxwell till he backed away and fell over to the ground to his side. He panted and recovered from his trance. He got up and stood on his feet again.

"You alright, Maxie? You looked as though your head was up in the clouds. Tried to get your attention but it looks like I had to tickle you out of your trance." said Eda chuckling.

"I'm alright, but what was going on before you tickled me out of my mindset?" asked Maxwell.

"I tried to get your attention twice, you didn't respond so Eda tickled you to get your attention." explained Luz.

Maxwell did realize now that his head was up in space but was now out of his trance. He blushed from how he probably looked like a zombie if he was in that trance for too long.

"Maxie, you ever been to a playground before?" asked Luz again.

"Once." replied Maxwell.

They looked at him with a confused looked as if they expected him to have been to a playground more than once.

"Only once?" said Luz surprised.

"I was at least nine. My school had taken us there after a field trip. Some kids I never met saw I was hesitant to play around so some of the kids were asking me if I wanted to play around, they thought I didn't know how to play at a playground so they were showing me how." explained Maxwell.

They were silent and knew that this was probably not the best thing to bring up. Maxwell's past was brutal but not being able to play at a playground meant he really missed out. Only played at one at least once in his life made them wonder how it went for him.

"How'd it go?" asked Luz curiously.

"It was a little fun. Till it rained and we all had to rush back inside faster than a track star could run." said Maxwell.

They felt as though they were consoled a little bit to know that Maxwell did at least have some fun that one time he was at a playground.

"Maxie, did your dad ever know about that?" asked Eda curiously.

"Nope, because it wasn't till a year or two later that the playground was closed down for a while. Lets just say that some guy who had way too much to drink walked on property and set the place on fire. They were working on re-building the whole place." answered Maxwell sadly.

"Yikes! What happened to the guy that was...you know?" asked Luz curiously.

"We heard the man was arrested and was doing up to eighteen years behind bars. No one got hurt, but who ever that guy was. I think people need to stop drinking." answered Maxwell.

They let out a sigh of relief to know that no innocent person got hurt.

"Maxie, I'm glad you were not there when it happened." said Luz with a sigh of relief.

He nodded to agree. They saw that King was making to the top of the slide.

"Stand back, cretins. Yes! Yes! This is a throne worthy of a tyrant. Bow to me you snotty underlings. Bow!" said King in triumph.

Some of the kids looked on in confusion as they were too young to know what King was talking about.

"Okay." said one of them.

There was two kids that were listening, one of them stood on her head and another looked as though he tried to do stand on one foot.

"Yes, appease your master." said King victorious.

One of the kids, a boy, came from behind King and looked as though he was teaching King how to play.

"This isn't for standing, it's for sliding. You try." said the boy.

The little boy gave King a gently push which caused King to fall and go down the slide but his landing wasn't perfect. He got up and was running to Eda, nearly screaming in annoyance.

"Eda! That monster took my throne." said King annoyed.

"You mean the baby?" said Eda looking relaxed.

"No, the usurper. I want you to go over there and blow him up. Kaboom!" said King defiantly.

The kid he was pointing at was riding on the spring rider that looked like a dragon.

"Kaboom." the kid yelled out.

"Yeah, I'm not using Owlbert to blow up a five‐year‐old." said Eda looking serious. "He's got better things to do. Like this..."

Owlbert was sitting in Eda's lap as she gently scratched Owlbert on his sides, causing him to hoot in relaxed tone.

"Eda, how did you meet Owlbert?" asked Maxwell curiously.

"I made Owlbert from the branch of an ancient tree." answered Eda.

Owlbert nodded with a hoot.

"Oh, he's my palisman and we're bonded for life. I'd annihilate anyone who'd hurt him." said Eda sounding serious and firm.

Hearing that Eda would take down anyone who hurt Owlbert sent an unpleasant jolt to Maxwell's heart. He knew she was being serious.

"Is it normal that you saying that scares me a little?" said Maxwell nervously.

Eda looked at Maxwell and knew that what she said made him feel a bit worried. She had a word of comfort.

"Maxie, you know that I know you'd never hurt Owlbert. He's said a lot of good about you. He's taken a shine to you from what he told me." said Eda reassuring him. "But to answer that question, it's normal. But you got nothing to afraid of, Owlbert seems to get along with you like he does with Luz."

Hearing Eda tell him that made Maxwell feel a little better. But he did take note of this as he knew that Owlbert is like Eda's child or one of her children and he knew that Eda was right.

"Fine. Don't help. Revenge will taste all the sweeter if they fall by my hand alone." said King with a crazed laugh.

The kid that King spoke of came from behind him and tapped him but he accidently tapped him a bit hard which caused King to fall on his sides.

"Tag, your it!" said the boy.

The boy walked off happily laughing without a care in the world. Eda smiled as if someone told her a humorous joke. They looked right at King.

"Oh, man. Here we go. King's squeak of rage." said Eda giggling.

King got up and was he was grunting in anger, he began to jump and squirm in anger like he was about to blow up with anger and he suddenly let out a loud, high pitched squeal that sounded like a whistle of some fort. He squealed and ran back towards the playground. Eda was laughing at the funny situation she just witnessed. Luz grinned as she found this to be cute but Maxwell, he had no idea what was going on.

"He is like a little teakettle." laughed Eda with a snort.

"What's this squeak of rage?" asked Maxwell looking confused.

They looked right at Maxwell and realized that he didn't know about King's squeak of rage when ever King was irate.

"Oh? We didn't tell you, did we?" said Eda realizing this.

Maxwell shrugged his shoulders and looked as though he was at a loss for what they were explaining to him.

"King has this squeak of rage. When he's enrage enough, he lets out a loud and angry squeal of rage." said Luz giggling.

"Sounds like an odd dog whistle." said Maxwell starting to understand.

Eda laughed at the words that Maxwell used to describe King's squeak of rage. Maxwell smiled and almost burst out laughing but he fought the urge.

"His squeak of rage does sound like a dog whistle. That's a good one." laughed Eda.

Maxwell saw that Eda was laughing about something he said. He got her to laugh, he felt a sense of accomplishment. Eda managed to recover from her laughter.

"We got a comedian on our hands." said Eda giggling.

"I'm actually surprised that I made you laugh. I didn't think I'd ever make anyone laugh, or even make Eda laugh for that matter." said Maxwell is slight disbelief.

"There are a lot of girls out there that like a guy that can make them laugh. That's actually how a lot of couples first meet." said Luz winking at Maxwell.

Maxwell knew the wink and smile from Luz was a sign that he could find something that Eda likes in life if he's to win her heart. He took a mental note of that.

"Eda, what's a palisman?" asked Maxwell curiously.

Eda and Luz again realized that Maxwell was still learning about the ways of the Boiling Isles, magic and all that goes on around there. Eda seemed to be happy to let Maxwell or Luz learn from her as if giving her a sense of pride.

"A palisman is a magical totem atop a witch's staff that serves as their familiar. The palisman and staff are acquired by a witch as part of their education. The palisman connects to the staff to an unique interlock that mates it to just one staff. But the palisman is an independent, sapient entity capable of detaching itself from the staff and acting on its own. While a witch and their palisman are joined by a relationship of affection and mutual respect, a palisman will leave the relationship if it is harmful to them. Which I would never abandoned Owlbert or my own staff and he'd never do that to me ether." explained Eda as she gave Owlbert a gentle scratching to his head.

Luz was looking eager to learn this from Eda as she smiled while Maxwell was looking to be shocked as if he was learning something that human scientists didn't know about.

"So I take it every fully trained witch like you has a staff and with it, a palisman." said Maxwell taking notice.

"Your catching on fast, slick." said Eda with a grin. "Yet with every palisman, they have this hole on the bottom of their foot. That's his interlock. So he only fits under my staff. Every palisman has one."

Just as soon as Eda was about to say more. She suddenly looked as though she was having a hallucination that had her looking like she was in a silver void. She was looking around and saw that she was alone.

_"Hello, Luz, Maxie?"_ called Eda as her voiced echoed.

_"Eda?"_ came Luz's voice from nowhere.

_"Eda, don't leave me."_ came Maxwell's desperate tone.

_"Maxie, call out to me. I'm not leaving you or Luz."_ called out Eda. _"Luz. Maxie."_

Suddenly, Eda was slowly waking up and saw that Luz, Owlbert and Maxwell were standing over her, trying to get her to wake up. They looked worried yet Maxwell was looking frantic.

"Eda! Eda! Wake up! Are you all right?" asked Luz getting worried.

Eda got up and was suddenly wide awake.

"What?" she said with a gasp. "Oh, no. The curse. Hey, we have to get home. Now!"

Eda got up from the bench and Maxwell followed as a protective instinct was now kicking into him. He placed Eda's arm behind him to assist her in case she was to fall or black out. Eda was surprised, he didn't ask for her permission this time.

"Eda, I know you don't want me to but I'm helping you, whether you want me to or not. Please, just let me do my part." said Maxwell swallowing his fear.

"You really want to help me, do you?" said Eda knowing the truth of this.

"You've done so much for me, Luz and King. This is my turn to help you." said Maxwell but now wide eyed. "I mean this is our turn to help you. Just until we get home?"

Eda could see the look in Maxwell's eyes, they were begging for her to let him help her. She knew that she was used to taking care of herself and would rarely let him or Luz assist her with something such as this. But she knew that look in Maxwell's eyes was telling her that there's no talking him out of it. She let out a sigh and gave a small smile.

"You know you don't have to do this." said Eda trying to reassure him.

"I'm doing this not because I have to. I'm doing this because I want to." said Maxwell giving her the big eyes.

Eda was seeing that Maxwell was serious and determined, she nearly couldn't look at those big eyes as she blinked and looked up.

"Alright, big boy. I'll let you help me. But just stop giving me those eyes. Sorry, it's just those eyes kind of make it feel like it's being tattooed into my soul. No offense." said Eda relenting.

Maxwell stopped giving her the big eyes and she looked right at him for a bit and back at Luz.

"King we have to go!" called Luz.

"Five more minutes, please!" called King as he was about to try and take on one of the kids.

"King!" called Luz again.

King stopped and knew that they were serious, letting out a grunt in defeat.

"Ah, man. This isn't over." said King pointing at the kid.

"Okay, let's play again real soon." said the kid with a grin.

The young boy was going in for a hug for King and King was wide eyed with shock and horror as if affection from others was something that creeped him out.

"No, no. Keep those sticky hands away! Oh, no! He's touching me!" said King with a scream.

King managed to slip out of the boy's hands and arms by sliding out from beneath him.

"Smell ya later." said King.

King went down the slide and ran to catch up to Eda, Luz, Owlbert and Maxwell. They all were walking together as they were making it to their home. King was seeing that Maxwell was helping Eda stay on her feet and blushed.

"Do I want to know?" asked King.

"Not really." stated Eda.

King was nearly trying to fight the urge to giggle and joke about this but he shrugged it off and figured he shouldn't ask at this time. Maxwell suddenly had an idea cross his mind.

"I know this is probably not everyone's first idea but I know a faster way home." said Maxwell.

"I wouldn't suggest flying right now. With me feeling this way, you'd risk me falling if I was to pass out." Eda advised.

"I got a better idea. But we're going to have to at least hold onto me." suggested Maxwell.

They stopped and everyone but Eda and Owlbert knew what idea Maxwell had in mind. Eda was a bit curious.

"What did you have in mind, little man. Carry me on your back?" Eda guessed jokingly.

"One word, teleportation." Maxwell corrected. "Ether we all hold onto each others hands or hold onto each other like we're in a group hug. Please Eda? It's a faster way so you don't have to walk such a long way. It'll be easier on your feet and easier on you and think of it as a short cut. You don't have to do a thing the whole time."

Eda could sense that Maxwell was wanting to make things easier for her but she felt as though this was like he was buttering her up. She didn't mind if there was an easier and faster way to do something. She knew she wasn't some frail old lady that is being looked after in a nursing home. She let out a breath.

"What other ideas do you have in mind?" asked Eda looking annoyed.

"Well, you wouldn't like the idea but I could carry you on my back. I'm stronger than I look." Maxwell suggest with his second option.

Eda was almost blushing at the idea and knew that she wasn't a fan of being carried.

"Lets teleport." said Eda complying.

Maxwell turned to wrap his arms around Eda from the front as if hugging her. Luz wrapped her arms around Eda from behind. King went up to Luz and held onto her by hugging her leg and Eda had her staff in one hand as Owlbert was already on top of her staff and connected to it through the interlock. Eda felt a bit odd from the group hugging but she figured that since Maxwell is helping her to make this easier for her, she'd allow it.

"Maxie, I'm only doing this because I'm sucker for taking an easier option when we have to." said Eda with a grin.

"We'll keep this between us." Maxwell informed.

"That's my boy." said Eda smiling down at him.

They suddenly teleported as they disappeared in a puff of gold smoke. As they teleported, their bodies felt weightless and free of any pain. It wasn't long till they reappeared in front of the house they live in. They released their arms from each other.

"Wow! That was faster and easier." said Eda looking thrilled yet relieved.

Maxwell still held onto Eda as they walked inside the house while Maxwell helped lay Eda on the couch after they've opened the door to walk inside and closed it behind them. Maxwell, being the powerfully strong person he is, managed to lay Eda on the couch by laying her on her side and placed a pillow under her head. He was able to help her without his strength running out.

"I'll go get your elixir." said Luz offering.

"Don't worry about it. I'll get it myself in a bit." said Eda looking tough.

"Go ahead and get it, Luz. I'll keep watch in case anything goes south like when the Dallas cowboys lost at the championship." said Maxwell taking command.

Luz was surprised to see that Maxwell was taking command and smiled as she saluted him.

"You got it." said Luz leaving the room.

As Luz left the room to go get the elixir, that's when Eda looked at Maxwell with a surprised expression.

"Maxie, you don't have to do this. I'll be fine." said Eda trying to convince Maxwell.

"Eda, I know your used to taking care of yourself, even though you've been looking out for us and taking care of us as well. But I see that a bit more help is needed. Please, let us help you." said Maxwell kindly protesting.

Eda had yawned and got up to sit up on the couch.

"Look, I know how to take care of myself. I've had this curse longer than you and Luz have been alive." said Eda stretching her back a bit.

"Eda, forgive me if this is like getting into your personal business and I apologize in advance for it. How'd you get this curse?" asked Maxwell hoping he wasn't being rude.

The look on Maxwell's face told Eda that he was trying not to be rude and trying not to get into her personal space. Was Maxwell just curious or was he trying to see if Eda knew anything he didn't? Eda grunted as she stopped stretching.

"I don't know, kiddo." said Eda looking clueless.

"You don't know?" said Maxwell looking stunned.

"Somebody gave it to me. I don't know who and I don't care because I'm fine, all right?" said Eda brushing this off.

As Eda ran her fingers through her thick and full hair locks. That's when Maxwell was curious to ask something that came to mind. He was nervous but he tried his best to swallow that feeling.

"Eda, what if someone you know actually knew who cursed you and why the said person did it? And if the person you know knew a way to help you with this?" asked Maxwell braving the question.

As Eda heard him asking her this, she would think for a moment. If someone she knew actually knows who cursed her, why the person did it and how to help her with the curse, she'd feel like she would like to know who this person is that would help her. But she again, brushed it off.

"Well, if you or someone I know actually knew who cursed me, found out why and knew how to help me with that. Than that would be very interesting. That said person would win me over like that." said Eda snapping her fingers in response.

Hearing that made Maxwell's heart feel like jumping for joy. The chance at winning Eda's heart was the one thing he wanted since he fell in love with her. Maxwell was about to open his mouth to say more but Luz walked in and had a vial of Eda's elixir in her hand, it had the gold liquid. Maxwell was at the same time relieved that Eda was going to keep her curse at bay with her elixir but also felt like he was interrupted. His face didn't show it but he felt inside.

"I got it." said Luz.

As Luz handed the elixir to Eda, she popped the stopper off it and downed the whole vial. She felt at ease for the time being.

"That'll keep that curse at bay for now." said Eda relieved.

Eda got up from the couch and as she stood up on her feet, she felt like her legs were about to give as she was about to fall to the floor. Maxwell was quick on his feet as he caught Eda before she hit the floor. Luz was even doing her part.

"I could just lay down on the floor. I've done that once and I felt rested before." said Eda with a yawn.

"Eda, you'd probably feel better in your room." suggested Luz.

"I got it from here, kiddo." said Eda being stubborn.

"Your body being exhausted says otherwise. Eda, please, I know your a tough, strong woman but it's alright to have someone to lean on. Let me at least help you to your bed. It's much better than the hard floor and I should know." said Maxwell trying to convince her.

They looked right at him and were wondering how he slept on the floor at one time in his life.

"How'd that turn out?" asked Luz curiously.

"Lets just say it's horrible for the back and it's like sleeping on rock." said Maxwell telling them.

"Oh alright." said Eda with a sigh.

Eda had allowed Maxwell to help her to her room. Luz let Maxwell do this as she gave him a wink and grin again, signaling him that now could be the time to tell Eda how he feels about her. Maxwell winked back and placed Eda's arm around him so he can help her walk towards her room. He walked her down the hallway, helped her up the stairs and lead her into her bedroom. He managed get her in the bed she calls a nest. She looked up at Maxwell.

"Maxie, why help me when I said I got this on my own?" asked Eda curiously.

Maxwell felt that now was probably the time to tell Eda how he felt about her, about what he was doing to help her that he kept hidden from her. But seeing how tired Eda appeared to be, he felt like he didn't want to tire her out anymore than she already is.

"You've done so much for us. It's nice to help someone when they need it. I want to help you, even if you tell me no. Something is telling me to do that." said Maxwell kindly.

Eda seemed to feel some of his kindness injecting itself into her and she smiled. She reached out to place her hand on Maxwell's chest.

"Maxie, how do you put up with me?" said Eda.

"Same reason why you put up with me. My mother told me that family's are suppose to put up with each other, even if we give each other too many headaches and not enough pain killers." Maxwell kindly replied.

Eda seem to be confused by this. Was Maxwell trying to tell her something? She sensed that Maxwell was trying to imply something but she was not sure what. She giggled at the last thing he told her.

"I know your trying to be serious but when you said too many headaches and not enough pain killers, sounds a little funny." said Eda with a grin. "Any girl would be lucky to have you. They love a guy who can make them laugh."

Eda leaned in and planted her big and soft lips to Maxwell's cheeks, than his forehead, his chest where his heart was located and even his lips. She smiled at him before she fell into her nest and was out like a light. Maxwell stood up and blushed, he began to walk out of her room and closed the double doors.

"I don't want any other girl. I want her. I want Eda." said Maxwell softly.

He began to walk back towards the living room where Luz and King were at. King was busy drawing what looked like plans and notes on notebook paper. Luz looked back at Maxwell with a hopeful grin as she came over to him.

"How'd it go? Did you tell her? Come on, tell me you told her and you won her heart." said Luz eagerly.

Maxwell was silent at first and looked up at her, looking disappointed.

"I tried to tell her but I...I could do it." said Maxwell sadly.

Luz saw that a tear trickled out of his eye and down his cheek. She could tell that he really, really wanted to tell Eda but something held him back.

"She conked out before I could try to tell her." said Maxwell in a shaky voice. "Oh Luz, why is this so hard?"

Luz placed her hand on Maxwell's heart to try and console him.

"Maxie, it's alright to afraid to tell Eda you love her. Many other guys have been through that." said Luz trying to reassure him.

"I know I love her, Luz. Every neuron in my limbic system is saturated with phenylethylamine. That triggers euphoria, elation, exhilaration. Truth is, Luz, I'm not afraid out of my wits because I'm wimpy, terrified or letting fear control my life. I'm afraid of my wits because I'm in love with Eda." said Maxwell looking crushed.

King was able to hear this and he got up and walked over to them as he could sense that Maxwell might have another emotional breakdown.

"Come on, Maxie. There's still a chance to tell Eda." said King trying to encourage him.

"That's the thing, right now, she's out like a light and it would be rude to wake her now. I'd have to wait." said Maxwell sadly. "Besides, I'm probably too terrified to tell the most beautiful woman ever that I love her with all my heart. She probably would prefer someone braver than some spineless, coward like me."

"Maxie, your not a spineless coward. You've come too far to give up. She may be out like a light for now, but when she wakes up, you can find the right time to tell her. If your honest with Eda, she'll love you back." said Luz trying to inject some courage into him.

Maxwell felt that her words were starting to sink in as he looked back at Luz.

"You think I would really have a chance with Eda?" asked Maxwell.

"Everything that you've done in order to try and help Eda has proved it. You love Eda, and even though Eda is quite the tough, confident and sassy lady. I know she's a big softy inside. When Eda wakes up, just think of something that makes you feel confident. That'll keep fear away from you." said Luz kindly.

Maxwell did remember that music was what got him to be confident and swallow his fear. His expression changed and showed positivity.

"I'll try to." said Maxwell.

"That's my Maxie waxie." said Luz cutely.

Luz placed her hands on Maxwell's shoulders and pulled him in for a hug which he accepted and felt comforted from her hugging him.

"Guys, I'm glad you two can actually make me feel better when I'm down. I feel like I can tell you guys anything." said Maxwell letting out a sigh of relief.

"That's what family is for." said Luz kindly.

Luz gave his shoulders a gentle grip and smiled as she pulled Maxwell over towards the couch and as they were sitting down, she began to place one hand on Maxwell's stomach, starting to rub it while her other hand began to gently rub his back. Maxwell felt a very relaxing sensation spreading through out his body like he was being massaged and having every itch on his body being gently scratched.

"Luz, this might be embarrassing to ask but could we cuddle? I could use someone to hold me right now." said Maxwell blushing.

"It's not embarrassing to ask me. Maxie waxie want to get snuggly cuddly with mama Luz." said Luz playfully.

Luz began to hug him in a one armed hug and rubbed Maxwell's belly gently. Maxwell blushed deeper but he felt Luz was surrounding him with love as she would smooch him on his cheeks.

"Let mama Luz comfort you for now. She'll make those scary fears disappear." said Luz in a cute tone.

"I feel warm inside from this." said Maxwell feeling relaxed.

"While you guys are getting snuggly wuggly. I got to use the toilet." said King as he walked off with a slip of paper with something written on it.

An hour went by as Luz comforted Maxwell through cuddling him in her arms. King was having to use the bathroom during that as he probably had a lot to eat at the time being. He cleaned himself up and cleaned the bathroom up if there was mess left behind. Luz kissed Maxwell on his cheeks, making him smile and she was doing a good job at making Maxwell feel better.

"Luz, do you really think I'd have a chance with Eda? Romantically speaking?" asked Maxwell curiously.

"Absolutely, with how you feel about her and what your doing for her. She'd be extática. You should tell her how you feel before these feelings boiling over and explotar." said Luz encouraging him. "Besides, maybe she's awake and you can tell her."

"Well, if she's awake, I do know something to tell her to break the ice for starters. But I need something to hype me up like how Eda hyped me up when she was enrolling me at Hexside." said Maxwell looking to her hopefully.

"Ooohhhh, I know how to do that." said Luz chuckling.

Luz smiled and blushed excitedly as she pulled Maxwell in her arms and planted her soft lips to his in a deep and passionate kiss. Maxwell was wide eyed from Luz kissing him on the lips which he closed his eyes as he felt his heart race with excitement and courage. She eventually pulled her lips off him in a loud pop. Their eyes opened and Maxwell smiled, feeling giddy.

"Go get her, warrior of love." said Luz encouragingly.

Maxwell grinned and got up from the couch as he walked out of the living room and walked down the hallway. As he was headed for Eda's room, he was thinking of a song that could serenade Eda and with every other one he was thinking of, he knew he wanted to go with a song that wasn't too obnoxious or inappropriate. He wanted it to be deep but romantic, sappy. He walked up the stairs and found out which song was perfect for it.

"I'm ready for it." said Maxwell.

Maxwell saw King was about to open the double doors that lead to Eda's room.

"Eda! Great news. I thought of the perfect way to get revenge on that usurper. Now, don't be put off by the complicated premise. I'll break it down for you in small pieces." said King as he was about to open the doors.

"King, wait a minute. I need to talk to Eda." Maxwell chimed in.

King opened the doors to Eda's room and was walking inside. Maxwell groaned and followed him as he was about to go inside Eda's room.

"Eda, if your awake, is it alright if I come in? I got to confess something." called Maxwell as he stood near the doors.

He heard nothing but heard faint growling. He wondered if it was King.

"King, is Eda alright?" called Maxwell.

He heard the faint growls again and decided to knock at least three times to signal he was coming in. He was now walking inside Eda's bedroom.

"Hey guys, this is serious. King, I need to talk to Eda about..." Maxwell paused.

When Maxwell walked inside Eda's bedroom, he stopped. There, he saw King standing in front of Eda with surprise like he was. He saw Eda was in her cursed, monstrous owl form. But she was partially transformed when one of her eyes showed how she looked when in her cursed form and the other eye showed what it looked like when the curse is at bay. Maxwell's heart was sinking with fear.

"Oh no." said Maxwell shocked.


	32. Chapter 32

Maxwell and King stared at Eda in her partially transformed cursed form and Maxwell knew that something wasn't right, this time. Seeing one of Eda's eyes was different than the other.

"King, Eda, she's." Maxwell began.

"Her curse has come back." said King looking wide eyed with shock.

Eda, while in her partially transformed cursed appearance, she saw the two and looked at them with a hostile and fierce expression. She moved forwards to them as loud foot steps made loud thuds as she came over to them. It was hard to tell who was more afraid right now, Maxwell or King.

"Owl beast! Stay back!" screamed King.

"Eda stop!" screamed Maxwell.

They closed their eyes tight out of fear. Eda nearly was about to go and try to bite at them but she stopped, she backed up and sat on her hind legs while she stood up on her front legs. It was like seeing a dog sitting. They opened their eyes and saw that Eda heard and understood them.

"Did you just listen to us? Uh, come here. Sit." King commanded.

"King, she's not a dog." argued Maxwell.

They saw Eda obey King's command as she came closer to them by two feet, sat down on her hind legs. Eda leg out a snort and whinny like a horse. King seemed to take notice.

"Oh, this is an interesting development. Eda is only partially transformed which means she's totally suggestible." said King taking notice of this.

"Suggestible?" said Maxwell confused.

"Well, from the looks of things. When partially transformed, a part of herself remains intact, making her partially suggestible. In this state she can understand and respond to commands and can recognize anyone she knows. At least from what it looks like." explained King.

They stared at Eda and Maxwell was starting to understand but was still shocked to see this happening in front of him as if seeing a tornado making it's way towards him for the first time. King giggled as he suddenly was getting ideas.

"King, what are you laughing about?" asked Maxwell.

"Owl beast, pin our big boy on his back to the floor gently and snuggle him." commanded King.

Eda let out a snort and growl as she was making her way towards Maxwell.

"She is not a-whoa!" Maxwell began.

Eda placed her large hands on Maxwell's chest and shoulders and pinning him on his back to the floor with her on top of him. Maxwell looked at her with fear but it quickly changed when he saw Eda was pressing her body against his like she was cuddling Maxwell, she nuzzled her face against his, letting out soft growls. Maxwell was oddly comfortable but at the same time, he was still shocked.

"King, does she recognize me?" asked Maxwell curiously.

"Awwww, she likes you." said King giggling. "Give him a kiss. Give him a big, sloppy wet one."

Maxwell was not sure if King was teasing or pulling a prank on him wit how he was giving Eda commands in her partially transformed appearance. Maxwell turned to look at Eda and saw a very long, thick and wide tongue snaking it's way out of her mouth and he turned away, feeling her huge tongue licking and smothering his face and chest over and over, causing him to laugh.

"King, quit it. Make her stop, help!" laughed Maxwell.

"You do love being kissed by her, do ya?" laughed King.

"Not like this. King, help! It's so big and slimy." laughed Maxwell.

"Alright, I'll show some mercy. Eda, stop kissing him and let him up! But be gentle, he's fragile." King commanded kindly.

Eda stopped licking Maxwell's face and got up off him as she stood up in front of him. Maxwell got up to his feet, wiping his face off with his hands as he felt like he was smothered by a giant tongue.

"Forget fire. I've got a greater force to unleash. You! You're going to help me regain my throne. I mean, if that's okay with you. Right?" asked King kindly.

Eda let out a loud growl to show she heard what he told her. Maxwell was starting to catch onto what was going on.

"I'll take that weird grumble as a yes. I'm just gonna grab a little bottle of elixir in case you go rogue on me." said King.

"Wait, what's going on?" Maxwell asked but now understood what was happening.

King went to grab one of the elixirs but Maxwell remembered they gave Eda one not too long ago. King placed it in a small bag that he was now carrying.

"King, we already gave Eda an elixir over an hour ago." said Maxwell as he saw other empty vials of elixirs clanking.

"Oh you did, where was I when you did that?" asked King curiously.

"The living room, you were drawing plans on notebook paper." answered Maxwell.

"Oh? Maybe we should give this elixir soon?" said King laughing. "Now, to destiny's battlefield: the playground! Eda, take me and our baby to the playground."

"Don't even think about it!" warned Maxwell.

It was too late as Eda took off but forgot to grab Maxwell and King along with them. Maxwell heard the loud foot steps going through the house. A surge of rage kicked into Maxwell as him and King ran out of there and went down the stairs, going towards the living room and he heard a loud crash. They entered the living room and saw that the door was forced open but surprisingly, it wasn't damaged. They saw Luz sitting on the couch, looking surprised at what she just saw.

"Luz, did you just see what came through here?" asked Maxwell.

"You mean Eda partially transformed and taking off out the door? Than yes." answered Luz.

"The elixir isn't working well enough." said Maxwell.

The news hit Luz like a ton of bricks falling from the top of a building. She got up and was worried.

"I was going to tell Eda how I feel but we walked in on her partially transformed. King was about to plan revenge at the playground but she took off without us." said Maxwell explaining.

Maxwell reached out to grab hold of King and held him in his arms. He looked angry.

"King, do you have any idea what could happen to Eda? Why did you have to get so vengeful towards them kids?" said Maxwell growling.

King was shaking with fear but he was overcome with guilt as he saw what he had done. He may have ruined Maxwell's chances with Eda.

"Maxie, I'm sorry. I used Eda for her strength 'cause I felt weak. I'm your friend and her friend. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please don't hate me! I never meant to ruin your chances with Eda." said King overcome by fear and guilt as a tear trickled out of his eye.

King nearly started bawling in tears which left Maxwell and Luz taken-aback and realized that they've probably shouldn't get too harsh with him.

"I'll do anything to make up for what I did! I'll do anything! Anything!" King begged.

Maxwell let out a sigh as he could tell that King was very sorry for what he just did. His rage turned to sympathy as he tried to console King with him and Luz hugging him.

"I'm a bad little boy!" said King crying.

"King, calm down! Your not a bad little boy, you just realized what you did was wrong. Bad little boys never feel that." said Luz attempting to console him.

King began to feel better and stopped crying as the two humans took turns hugging him, with Luz kissing him and lightly patting his back. King started to regain his composure and his crying stopped.

"Guys, I'm sorry. Maxie, I'm really sorry." said King showing a guilty look.

"It's alright, King. But we'll talk about this later. Right now, we need to go get Eda." stated Maxwell.

They began to walk outside and close the door. Maxwell had an idea.

"Luz, get on my back. King, you get on Luz's shoulders and hold on." instructed Maxwell.

Maxwell kneeled down so Luz could reach out to get on his back. Luz placed her hands from behind his shoulders and jumped, she wrapped her legs around his waist while he took hold of her legs. Luz had her face pressed to Maxwell's cheek as she had her arms wrapped around his body from above his shoulders like she was getting a piggy back ride. King crawled up from Maxwell's legs and like a spider, he crawled his way up to reach Luz's shoulders and sat down on her shoulders, hanging onto her.

"Hang on tight!" said Maxwell.

Maxwell suddenly took off running so fast that he ran as fast as he could, he ran at super sonic speed levels. They held onto him tight as Luz's and Maxwell's hair flowed in the wind. He was running through the town, passing by people and dodging very good. He was very good at dodging and avoided hitting or crashing into people.

"Wow! This kid is fast on his feet." called King.

_"I'm gonna confess my feelings to Eda and win her heart. Even if I die trying."_ said Maxwell to himself.

When they reached the playground, they could hear beast like screeching sounds and kids screaming.

"Oh! A monster." screamed a deep voiced male demon child.

They made it to the playground and both Luz and King slid off Maxwell's back and King slid off Luz's shoulders and landed onto his feet. They saw that Eda was running around and looking as though she was chasing her tail or sniffing around as if smelling something sweet was near.

"Two words come to mind." Maxwell said out loud.

"Not good." said Luz and King in unison.

"Definitely." said Maxwell. "You two help the kids and get them out of here."

"What are you going to do?" said Luz.

Maxwell was starting to make his way towards Eda.

"I'll take care of Eda." said Maxwell cracking his knuckles.

"Maxie, you'll need this." said King pulling a vial out of a bag.

King tossed a bottle of the gold colored elixir and Maxwell caught it in one hand. Maxwell was making his way towards Eda while Luz and King would go around getting the kids that were still there. As Luz and King would evacuate the kids that were there, some kids ran off towards their parents. King would apologize to each kid that he helped. Maxwell whistled towards Eda to get her attention and she turned to see Maxwell. He may have been terrified but Maxwell's love and courage overcame his fear.

"Eda! I got something you want!" called Maxwell.

He held up the bottle of the elixir and Eda saw it, she looked a bit confused as if she didn't recognize the vial.

"Just come to me and I'll give you anything you want. Come over here, now!" commanded Maxwell.

Eda immediately obeyed and came towards Maxwell by a run. Maxwell popped the stopped off the vial and tossed it towards Eda like a baseball. Eda got closer but the vial landed inside her mouth and instantly went down her throat in a loud gulp. She let out a very loud burp that could be heard from anywhere near the playground.

"Eda! Come to me and show me some love. I'm hear to take you home." called out Maxwell.

Eda was like a well trained dog that responded to every command that her master gave her and she came at Maxwell by a run as she suddenly pinned a wide eyed Maxwell to his back on the ground. Luz and King looked away, afraid of seeing something very bloody. They waited to hear him scream in agony but they heard laughter instead. They looked and saw Eda was on top of Maxwell, she was licking his whole face with her very long, thick and wide tongue again and she looked as though she was cuddling him.

"Eda, that tickles. Oh my, that's slimy." laughed Maxwell.

"Awwww, this is kind of cute." said Luz looking adored.

"They like each other and they cannot lie! All the other couples can't deny!" King teased in a sing song voice.

They saw that things between Eda and Maxwell looked as though Maxwell had everything under control.

"Luz, you take care of the remaining kids, I'm gonna go help Maxwell. I started this mess and I'm going to help clean things up. Think you can handle it from here?" said King hopefully.

"Sure, I got two more kids and I can handle it." said Luz kindly reassuring.

They nodded and as Luz went to help evacuate the last remaining kids, King was going over towards Eda and Maxwell. King could see that Eda was showing Maxwell affection like a dog to their master. But his joy was short lived as a siren nearby started wailing, it sounded like an animal than it did a siren from the human realm. King turned to see what looked like strongly built, wooden carriage that was being pulled by the reins that were attached to a large purple beetle with a human face, red eyes. There was a sign on the side of the carriage that read "Animal Control"

It was being lead by three adults. Two of them were male orcs, one being tall, one being a litlte shorter with a big chin. The tall male orc had an eye patch on his left eye. They had what looked like a female with purple hair with them but was hard to tell if she was male or female. They were wearing uniforms that were yellow with white stripes. They stopped and got off the carriage.

"Uh, this is so embarrassing." said the female looking disappointed.

"Hey, hey. This job is all we have right now. So, I wanna see happy faces. Okay?" said the tall male orc with a grin.

The other two he had with them managed to force a fake smile, they probably were disappointed or really hated the job they've got since they looked as though their previous job was probably more promising to them.

"Let's roll out." said the tall male orc.

The the three demon hunters made their way towards the playground and when they saw Eda was licking Maxwell's face and cuddling him this way, they were disgusted by what they saw as they saw this from a different direction that they're standing in and it looked like to them that Eda was some large monster humping against a teenager as they heard Maxwell's laughter. They felt sick to their stomachs.

"Ewwwwww." said the female with purple hair.

"They're getting their freak on. That's so gross." said the short male orc shocked.

"Matches the description the parents called in. Bag it." said the tall male orc. "Hey you two, quit it before I get the hose. They're children here and they don't need to see you two on date night."

Eda stopped and heard them, she looked right at them and back at Maxwell. The young male human had an idea as he showed Eda a desperate look.

"Eda, help me. Those people beat me up and I'm terrified of them. They're going to take me away. I want to stay with you." Maxwell begged.

Eda appeared to know Maxwell, she appeared to remember him and what Maxwell told her made her feel as though she was thinking that Maxwell was her baby. Even in her partially cursed form, she nuzzled Maxwell's cheek to show she understood him and got up off him. She let out loud growls and snarls as walked towards the three demon hunters that were coming towards them. Maxwell got up on his feet.

"Those two were, ewwwww. That's just wrong." said the tall male orc grossed out.

"We were not doing what you think we're doing." called Maxwell.

Maxwell rushed to get in front of Eda and Eda was giving Maxwell a brief nuzzle to his cheeks. The three demon hunters were not sure what to think.

"Get out of the way. We have our orders." said the tall male orc.

"Your not taking her! She's mine! She's my beast!" said Maxwell defiantly.

"I'm giving you to the count of three or we bag both of you." warned the short male orc.

"Over my chiseled, muscular, dead body. I oughta knock you out!" threatened Maxwell with a clenched fist.

Three demon hunters appeared to be shocked that he was standing up to them, defending what they believed to be a stray, feral demon like beast and that the male human threatened to knock them out. The short male orc was coming over to him.

"I'm warning you, kid. One." threatened the short male orc.

Maxwell showed defiance as he shook his head.

"Two, you better get out of the way or I'm really going to kick it to you." threatened the short male orc trying to appear intimidating.

"No!" said Maxwell being disobient.

"Three!" said the tall male orc. "Last chance, you disobient brat!"

"Come anywhere near my own and I'll smash your face." warned Maxwell.

"That's it! I'm removing you myself." threatened the short male orc.

The second the short male orc was in hand shaking distance of standing in front of Maxwell, he formed his fist and growled.

"Mama said knock you out!" said Maxwell in defiance.

Maxwell punched the male orc in the face hard, than he punched him in the stomach hard, causing him to gasp and grunt as the breath was knocked out of him. As the short male orc made an attempt to grab him, that's when Maxwell kicked him in his crotch, causing him to hold onto his crotch in pain.

"Ohhhhh, right where the family jewels hide." gasped the short male orc.

"I'm gonna knock you out!" cried Maxwell.

Maxwell landed one more punch to the short male orc and it sent him flying all the way towards the carriage. The two remaining demon hunters were shocked that Maxwell had some fight in him.

"Mama said knock you out!" cried Maxwell.

"Knock them out, Maxie!" cheered King.

Without warning, the victory was short lived with the female with purple hair and the tall male orc charged at them and the male orc was too fast for Maxwell to react this time and he punched Maxwell in the face, knocking him to the ground. Eda saw this and she appeared to hate that they hurt him, she came running to Maxwell's side and she was appearing to show her mother bear instincts were kicking in, even in her cursed form. As Eda was nuzzling her cheeks against Maxwell's chest and cheeks to see if he was alright, that's when Maxwell was slowly waking up as the two demon hunters traced a green circle in the air and tapped the ground with them. A lot of green lines formed on the ground and a net formed around them as if it raised up from the ground and came back down on both Eda and Maxwell, it wrapped around them firmly while it made it look like Eda was holding Maxwell in her arms like a hug as they tried to squirm out. The large male orc had one finger lifted and a green energy light glowed around them as he levitated them towards the carriage while King watched in horror that they were now inside the carriage and the doors of them closed.

"No! Give us back our baby boy and the love of his life! Your scaring him!" King demanded.

The demon hunters ignored King as they walked back towards the carriage with grins on their faces. Luz showed up and came to King's side.

"King, I got the kids out, what happened?" asked Luz.

King was now overcome with guilt that he knew what he should do, even if it was risky.

"Luz, they took them. They took Eda and even our baby boy! It's my fault. I did this." said King looking guilty.

Luz was shocked to hear this but her mother bear instincts were kicking in stronger.

"Lets get Eda and our baby boy back!" said Luz looking determined.

"Luz wait! Let me do this. It's my fault that this happened, so let me be the one to make up for this. You guys can punish me later, give me five minutes to do this. If I fail, than come help us!" said King now filled with determination.

Luz was hesitant about this as King was so little but she saw the look of guilt in his eyes and that she saw he wanted to at least fix the situation. She let out a sigh and nodded.

"In five minutes, I'm going to throw down on them." said Luz warning him.

"Okay, you stay close by." said King nodding.

King and Luz left the playground and walked down one of the exits and there, they saw the carriage that the people from animal control were at. The three demon hunters were sitting where the drivers seat is. Luz stayed nearby while King ran towards the carriage, it looked like they were waiting for traffic to clear. He heard Eda's screeching but also heard her making soft growls as if she could be snuggling Maxwell. King caught up with the carriage in time and crawled his way through the barred windows and he landed on his feet in there. Inside, he saw Eda with her arms still wrapped around Maxwell like a hug, she looked at Maxwell with a frantic expression as if worried Maxwell was dying. Maxwell was fully awake now.

"Getting cozy, are we?" joked King.

Eda turned to look at King as she was still in the net with Maxwell. She looked at King with a hostile expression while she would look at Maxwell with a grin, everytime she looked at King, she looked hostile and tried to bite at him, everytime she looked at Maxwell, she grinned, nuzzled her cheeks against Maxwell's cheeks to show affection as if when in her cursed form while she recognized Maxwell, she seemed to have her maternal instincts for him intact as she was only partially transformed and suggestible. Maxwell looked towards King, blushing deeply.

"King, this isn't what it looks like." said Maxwell looking embarrassed to be caught this way.

"Maxie, I think she believes your her baby. She probably thinks I'm going to hurt you. So that's why she's got a protective instinct towards you. It's kind of cute when you look at it from a different view." explained King blushing.

Eda looked towards King and was looking like she was really trying to make sure he didn't get anywhere near her or Maxwell. She held Maxwell closely to her like a protective mother to her child. King was trying to think of ideas on how to fix this while Maxwell looked towards King for ideas as he felt as though this was a tight fit for them when being trapped in the net.

"Eda, I'm sorry. I used you for your strength 'cause I felt weak. I'm your friend. If only there were some way to remind you who I am." said King looking desperate.

Eda held Maxwell closer to her and nuzzled her cheek against Maxwell's cheek with a grin but gave King an angry, hostile look when he tried to get closer. One of them gotten an idea but it was a long shot.

"Rage squeal!" said Maxwell.

"Yeah, that's a great idea. Eda loves my rage squeal. Like this..." said King getting up on his feet.

King was grunting as he squirmed all around and let out a loud, high pitched squeal that sounded like a strange dog whistle of some fort. Eda looked at King with a confused expression at first but than started to go between snorts, laughing and snarls. She smiled and began to laugh.

"So tiny. So angry." laughed Eda.

During her laughing fit was when Eda rapidly shifted back to her normal form and the net disappeared into thin air. Eda landed on her bottom while Maxwell also landed on his bottom. Eda had her long, thick hair over her face but she used her hand to flip it back out of her face.

"What happened?" asked Eda curiously.

King and Maxwell were relieved as King ran and jumped into Eda's arms, both of them hugging each other. Maxwell nearly fought back tears to how overjoyed he felt.

"Eda, you're back." said King happily.

"Tell me what happened." said Eda looking suspicious of him.

_"King, don't tell her about what I was doing. I want to tell her myself."_ said Maxwell communicating with King with his mind.

King looked up at Eda and as she set him back on his feet. He cleared his throat.

"Okay, so I went to your room and you were the beast. And then‐‐ And then I woke up here one second before you did. But I think Maxie might've accidently got dragged into what ever happened." King lied.

Eda got up on her feet.

"Uh‐huh. I'll deal with you later." warned Eda.

She looked towards Maxwell and was taken-aback at the sight of Maxwell looking as though he was about to cry.

"What happened to Maxie? Did someone hurt him? Did someone make him cry?" said Eda showing her protectiveness.

Maxwell got up and ran to Eda, hugging her as he shed many tears, nearly bawling.

"Oh Eda! I'm so glad you're back." Maxwell said in a shaky voice.

Eda could tell that from how Maxwell appeared to be emotionally shaken, he needed a hug as she allowed him to hug her and she hugged him back. Patting his head and his back.

"Miss me that much, little man?" Eda said kindly.

"You have no idea." said Maxwell feeling her arms around his body.

Eda planted her lips to Maxwell's forehead to console him which worked along with her hugging him. After the released their arms from each other, they knew it was time to break out of the confinement they're in.

"I know something was up and someone is responsible but I'll deal with that later. But for now, you wanna bounce?" said Eda.

"Yes, please." said King eagerly.

Maxwell felt a big fit of rage kick into him and just as Eda was about to use a bit of magic to break them out, that's when he placed his hands on hers and shook his head.

"Allow me!" said Maxwell taking the lead.

Maxwell went to the door of the carriage and formed a fist and winded his fist by swinging it up over and over.

"Show us the hole in the wall!" cried Maxwell.

In one powerful swing, he punched the wall and he left large cracks in it. He got ready to punch the wall again and slammed his fist against it again, leaving at least a big opening but he knew they needed one more punch. Eda looked thrilled and excited to see Maxwell taking command, showing confidence and strength.

"Hit it like a hammer, Maxie!" cheered Eda.

Maxwell gave one more powerful punch and with a loud bang, he knocked a huge opening out and half the carriage was destroyed, leaving a giant, gaping hole in the carriage. The three walked out of the carriage and Eda was so excited to see this side of Maxwell that she nearly jumped for joy.

"Whoa! Someone's ready to hulk out. That's my Maxie!" Eda cheered happily.

"No prison can hold me or the ones I care about." said Maxwell feeling confident.

The tall male orc looked back there and he was annoyed. He let out an annoyed groan.

"Aah! Where did it go?" the tale male orc groaned.

He looked to see Eda, King and Maxwell.

"Hey, lady. H‐Have you seen a monster that kinda looks like you? Lady!" called the tall orc.

They turned to the orc and Maxwell remembered that he was the one who punched him and knocked him out. He was feeling really irate.

"Hey guys, if you will excuse me? I got some business to take care of." said Maxwell looking angry.

Eda and King wondered what he meant but they got their answer as Maxwell made his way towards the tall male orc.

"Hey you ugly mother fucker in green?" yelled Maxwell.

The tall male orc saw Maxwell coming towards him and he was wide eyed with panic, he knew what was coming to him.

"I'm gonna break a nail on your face while I knock you out like Mike Tyson." screamed Maxwell in anger.

Maxwell grabbed hold of the tall male orc by the front of his clothing, pulling him out of his seat, literally. He began to form a fist again and took a swing at him.

"I never meant to punch you in the face. I was told to get physical by my superiors if anyone got in the way of our job." the tall male orc said pleading for his life.

"Fuck you, liar!" shouted Maxwell.

Eda saw Maxwell landing punch after punch on the tall male orc's face, he even punched him in the stomach and gave his most powerful punch to his crotch. The tall male orc gasped for breath from the pain those punches left him in.

"You made a mistake on laying your hands on a child like me, you made an even bigger mistake by laying your brutal hands on a woman, and now, you made the biggest mistake in laying your brutal hands on the most beautiful woman I've ever met. You half-ass bully!" Maxwell ranted in anger while punching him.

"Ohhhhhh right in my baby maker." said the tall male orc in pain.

While this was going on, the woman with the purple hair caught the entire thing and watched with a satisfied smile as if it was like revenge on someone she didn't get along with. Maxwell landed one more punch to the tall orc's face, knocking him to the ground and in one swift motion, he rapidly drew a gold circle in the air and a long gold line and a long and strong rope formed as Maxwell quickly tied the taller male orc's hands and feet together as it looked like he hogtied him to the point that he couldn't move. Maxwell dusted his hands off and looked at the now immobile orc with rage.

"Boy! You need a role model!" shouted Maxwell.

"Hahahahahaha, you got beat up by a kid." laughed the lady with purple hair.

The tall orc was left dizzy and seeing stars while Maxwell walked away.

"Who Dat? Who Dere?" the tall male orc said dizzily.

Maxwell made it over to a thrilled Eda and a surprised King.

"Wow! You socked it to him." Eda said looking amazed.

"If anyone calls that joker, he can't come to the phone right now, they'll need to leave a message. He's all tied up." joked Maxwell.

"Yeah! Maxie's king of the world!" cheered King.

Eda laughed at the joke Maxwell made and she pulled Maxwell in her arms and planted her soft lips to his in a deep kiss. Maxwell closed his eyes and kissed back as the two held each other in their arms and gave each other a big kiss to each others lips. Luz came over as she apparently witnessed the entire situation. Both Luz and King were smiling from how those two were giving each other their best kiss. They eventually released their arms from one another and pulled their lips off each other in a loud pop. Eda was over the moon proud of Maxwell.

"Lets bounce." said Eda.

Eda, King, Luz and Maxwell walked off as they left the playground. They held onto each others hands as Maxwell began to teleport them and himself out of there and they reappeared at the house as they walked inside. Luz went to sit down on the couch and so did King. Eda was nearly feeling tired but she wasn't tired enough to feel sleepy or aching anywhere.

"So Maxie, I take it you had a reason for knocking that joker out?" said Eda playfully nudging him.

"He tried to harm you and me. No man hits a lady while I'm around or I'll knock them out." answered Maxwell cracking his knuckles.

Eda smiled, she felt that Maxwell was doing something incredibly kind for her in the name of her honor as if she was starting to understand what Maxwell meant and how he felt when he speaks about how impolite it is for a man to hit a lady, her heart began to beat for him in a new form but she had no idea how to go about it. She may not have looked like it but she didn't know what this feeling was. It was ether love towards him, admiration for how he doesn't let a man hit a lady or was it because she was seeing a newfound confidence in him building inside, thanks to her influence. She didn't know which it was but she stretched her back a bit, stretching parts of her body as if popping some joints.

"I think I need to rest up. I feel like I ran ten miles on my own feet." said Eda trying to cover up her feelings.

Maxwell looked towards Luz and knew that she was thinking the same thing he was. Now was the time to tell Eda how he felt about her.

_"Luz, is the potion in your bag?"_ Maxwell spoke to Luz through his mind.

Luz nodded to answer him and Maxwell let out a sigh of relief.

_"Than I know what to do. Thanks Luz, I hope this works."_ said Maxwell to Luz through his mind.

Luz winked and Maxwell looked towards Eda as he could tell she was a little tired but he sensed that if Eda tried to refuse his help, he wasn't taking no for an answer.

"Eda, let me help you to your room. You look beat." Maxwell kindly offered.

Eda looked at Maxwell and she saw that he was really wanting to assist her, she knew that arguing with him was going to do no good. She grinned and let out a sigh.

"Sure, why not. But tell no one about this. I'm not some frail old lady, you know." said Eda trying to appear tough.

"My lips are sealed tighter than a steel trap and your not a fr- I mean your not o- well. Your not, you know." said Maxwell trying very hard not to offend Eda.

Eda placed her arm around a blushing Maxwell as the young human male helped walk Eda down the hallway, up the stairs and inside her room. They stopped and Eda removed her arm from him.

"Eda, do you need anything?" asked Maxwell curiously.

"I'm fine, kiddo. But I'll holler if I need anything at all. Which hopefully, I'll be fine." lied Eda.

"You sure? I really don't want anything to happen to you." said Maxwell looking worried for her.

Eda looked towards him and she could tell he was worried for her or worried about her. She placed her hand on Maxwell's cheek and she was surprised that he didn't flinch this time, didn't even shut his eyes or look away.

"Look, kiddo, I appreciate your looking out for me and it's really sweet but there's nothing to worry about. The worst that could happen right now would be if I puked. When I turn back to normal after I drink the elixir, what ever I've eaten while I was in my cursed form, I throw it up like I got food poisoning. But once it's out, I'm good." explained Eda trying to calm Maxwell's worries. "I'm not gonna leave you."

Maxwell knew that she was trying to comfort him of any fear or worry which he felt it was kind of her to do but he sensed she was lying to get him to stop worrying. He knew confronting her about it was a bad idea so he played along.

"Okay, but if your needing anything, just give me a holler. What ever makes you feel comfortable." said Maxwell.

Eda smiled and planted a kiss to Maxwell's cheek. He smiled back and nodded. As Eda turned around to enter her bedroom, that's when Maxwell went to go down stairs and walked towards Luz's bedroom. He saw her bag and reached inside to pull out the little bag that had the potion in it. He checked to make sure it was the right bag and the potion vial was inside the bag.

"I've got it." said Maxwell happily.

He walked out the room and closed the door. He was walking back towards the stairs as he tried to swallow his fear completely now. This was it, he was going to confess his feelings to the one woman he has been in love with she given him his first kiss. He walked up the stairs and walked towards the double doors that lead to Eda's room. He was hearing coughs, really loud coughs. He made it to the entrance of the room and he saw Eda was coughing and holding onto her stomach a little. She picked up an empty vial of her elixir. A subtle look of fear and worry was on her face.

"The elixir... It isn't working on the curse anymore. This is bad." said Eda looking worried.

Eda let out one more cough and a loud retching sound was heard as she puked out what looked like part of a swing from the playground. Her coughing stopped.

"When did I swallow a swing?" said Eda confused.

"Oh my god." Maxwell blurted out loud.

She heard Maxwell's voice and turned to him, she dropped the empty vial and the part of the swing she had in her hands. She could tell that Maxwell heard everything and saw everything. Maxwell caught her in a lie for the first time but he knew that she only lied to make sure he wouldn't worry which he was going to forgive her for.

"Maxie, now don't freak out." Eda kindly warned.

Maxwell walked over towards her and she saw the small bag in his hand. As he now stood in front of her, he extended his hand and arm out to her and held the bag out to her. Eda was now wondering what was in the bag.

"Maxie, what are you doing?" asked Eda trying to understand.

He gently shook the bag towards her, not saying a word. Eda was not sure what Maxwell was trying to tell her. Maxwell wanted her to take the bag as his heart was beating faster, desperate for Eda to take the bag.

"You want me to take the bag?" guessed Eda.

He nodded and extended his hand out to her a little further towards her. She decided to take the bag in her hand and pulled the rope that was keeping it sealed tight, as she opened the bag, she looked inside it and found two potion vials, not one, but two vials. They had a note attached to them and she saw the vials were labeled too. The potion liquid in each vial was bright orange. She took the note and ripped it off one of the vials as she placed the bag in her nest so she wouldn't drop it. She read the note as it read out.

_This elixir will keep any and all curses at bay for a month. Be sure to take one when the curse you have is creeping back upon you. If you take it while an elixir is still in your system, it won't work. It will work on any and all curses, even if the curse has become too strong for your current elixir to keep the said curse at bay. Treat them well._

_Braxius_

Eda was in disbelief, her mind had so many question popping in her head like fireworks and she didn't know which to ask first. Her mouth nearly fell open in shock. She looked up at Maxwell didn't know what was on his mind at this moment. She placed the note on her dresser and walked over towards Maxwell with her face showing a bewildered expression. She placed her hands on his shoulders and gave them a light grip. Maxwell was almost afraid of how she was going to react.

"Where did you get this?" asked Eda demanding an answer.

"I got it from the night time market." Maxwell told her truthfully.

"The night time market? Don't you know how dangerous that place is, you don't go there unless you have me or an adult with you." said Eda starting to become stern.

"I had a reason, Eda. Please, if you let me explain, I'll tell you everything. I won't lie to you. I want to come clean but you need to promise me something." said Maxwell ready to tell her the truth.

"If it's bad news, than I can't make any promises." warned Eda.

"You need to promise me you won't yell at me. I'm a little scared." said Maxwell admitting what he felt at moment.

Eda could see the nervousness in Maxwell's eyes, the subtle fear on his face and when she placed one of her hands on his chest where his heart was located, she could feel his heart was racing faster. She saw that he wanted to tell her the truth but was scared to tell her. Her expression changed and she let out a sigh.

"Okay, I promise I won't yell at you." said Eda in a soft tone.

Maxwell explained everything to Eda. He told her that ever since he first saw Eda in her cursed form and even when he had an emotional breakdown afterwards, he felt that he had to do something to help her with it. He told her about the chat he had with Morton when he gotten a disguise potion from him and that Morton suggested who he should go to in order to find something that is stronger than her current elixir, he told her about what him, Luz and King did when they snuck out of the house to go to the night time market while Maxwell was using the disguise potion in order to make sure no one recognized him while he protected Luz and King with his life, he told her about his chat he had with the one man known as Braxius, he told her about how he almost lost the potion to a gryphon and how he got it back, even how he befriended the bat queen and her children in the process. He told her everything that he planned to help Eda with her curse.

Eda released her hands from him as if they went limp from the shock of what Maxwell told her and what he explained about to her. He was trying to help Eda with her curse? Eda was wondering why he was doing this but was curious.

"So when you said you wanted to sleep with Luz in her room because you felt lonely. Was that a lie?" asked Eda.

"I only lied about it so you wouldn't know what we were doing. But don't blame King or Luz, don't be mad at them. It was my idea to do this, I'm the mastermind of the plan, they just found out about it and they convinced me to let them help me. I did pretend to be asleep in Luz's arms when you came to check on us, but I did sleep with Luz in her bedroom since we were tired out. That and I think one of them is a cuddler." Maxwell confessed. "But I know I never should've lied to you."

As Eda listened, she was still a bit surprised that all of that was done while she took a nap around the time Maxwell, King and Luz went to the night time market to get the potion that could help her with her curse. She admired that Maxwell was telling her the truth and that he was willing to take the fall for Luz and King when they joined him in what he was doing yet she felt a bit thrilled about how he took down anyone that would try to hurt him or Luz and King yet she wondered why was Maxwell doing this for her.

"So let me get this straight. You planned this whole thing out in order to help me with my curse, you wanted to do it alone but Luz and King convinced you to let them help you. You lied to me in order to make sure I wasn't any of the wiser, you went to the night time market in disguise, you risked your life in order to succeed, nearly lost the potion that could help me with my curse, yet you didn't tell me this till now." Eda said counting it all down with her fingers.

Maxwell nodded and he showed he wasn't lying. Eda could tell he had a reason for this yet she suspected there was more to it than this. She placed her hands on her hips while Maxwell was feeling his nervousness creeping up on him again.

"And is there a reason why you didn't say anything sooner?" Eda asked.

"I didn't want to get your hopes up if the plan was to fail." Maxwell admitted.

She was starting to think that he didn't tell her because he didn't want to hurt her if his plan failed which she felt nothing can hurt her. Eda has always been a confident and brave woman, she couldn't remember when was the last time anyone hurt her feelings since she's always been a strong and tough lady.

"Maxie, you don't need to worry about hurting me, you haven't done anything to hurt me. Besides, I'm much stronger and tougher than anyone." said Eda trying to reassure him.

"It's not just that." Maxwell told her.

Now Eda was growing a bit more curious.

"How long have you been planning to help me with my curse?" Eda asked curiously.

"Less than three weeks from now." answered Maxwell.

He was planning this for that long? Now Eda was wanting to know what possessed him to do this for her.

"Maxie, you didn't have to do this." Eda told him.

"It's not that I had to. It's because I wanted to." said Maxwell looking determined. "You did so much for me, more than my dad ever did, and I figured this was my turn to do something for you."

"Than why did you? Why did you want to help me?" asked Eda wanting to know.

Maxwell let out a sigh and new he had to tell her, even if she was going to freak out.

"What if I said I knew who curse you and why the said person did that." Maxwell asked.

Eda went silent and knew the look on Maxwell's face meant he was serious.

"If you knew who and why? Than that would be interesting." answered Eda. "But how would you know? What are you not telling me?"

"That night when you were consoling me when you took me to your room. That nightmare or vision. It was a vision of the past and I think I saw who cursed you and what the reason was for. Your sister may have been a witness." Maxwell finally told her.

Eda was wide eyed. Her sister being a witness or possibly having something to do with her being cursed was shocking, but seeing who it was that did it was something she didn't expect.

"Who did you see that cursed me? Remember, don't lie to me." said Eda reminding him.

Maxwell let out a sigh and told her what the person looked like from the vision of the past that he had seen from within the vision. He told her what this person looked like, how he cursed her and what the conversation was between the reptilian man and Lilith. After he told her, that's when Eda was almost wanting to faint but she was too much of a confident woman to do that.

"I knew the curse was going get worse as time goes by and the current elixir was going to eventually stop working. That's why I knew I needed do something. You didn't ask for this curse, it's not fair to you, what this person did you isn't fair to you. If I lose you to this curse, I'd lose my will to live. I can't do it without you nor can I live without you. Both you, Luz, King, Luz's friends, Owlbert and even Hooty. You're all I've got. Back at home, I had no one and I had nothing. My own father was like the devil. But being with you and the others here, I feel like I...I feel like I got people who care about me. You, Luz, King, you guys helped me so much and did so much for me, helping me stand up to Lilith, saving me from those who harmed me, encouraged me to be me, you all shown me the one thing my own father never shown me. I can't go back because it's a death sentence if I do." explained Maxwell starting to get emotional. "I'd do anything to make sure I didn't lose the people I'm with. King makes me laugh, Luz comforts me when I'm terrified like a mother would her child, and you..."

Maxwell paused, blushing and a tear trickled out of his eye. Eda was curious to what he was about to say to her or what he was going to say about her.

"And I'm what?" said Eda.

"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met. So beautiful that you're pure beauty itself. I really like you but at the same time." paused Maxwell again.

"At the same time, you're what?" asked Eda almost starting to feel concerned.

"At the same time, I'm scared of you." Maxwell finished.

Eda was starting to remember all the signs that proved that Maxwell felt this way about her. All the times he was so nervous around her, closing his eyes and looking away from her when ever she would place a hand on him, all the times he fainted when she kissed him or hugged him, the times he offered to help her, even if she was reluctant at first, the times he would show fear of her when she would ask him if he was telling the truth or telling a lie, all the times he would be blushing when it came to her or anything involving a girl, why he rejected Lilith's advances, the times he would run to her when ever he was terrified or in danger, everytime he would state how wrong it was for a man to hit a lady, why he made sure that Principle Bump didn't harm her when she enrolled him into Hexside when she would relax herself in the office, why he helped her take down that vampire at the school, even when he would take him down when he insulted both him, Luz and Eda and when ever Maxwell took charge to help her through out the day when they returned home from the playground when Eda had blacked out, even when Maxwell ranted about what the tall male orc did to him, to a lady and Eda when Maxwell gave the tall male orc a smackdown. He was terrified of her but also likes her at the same time. She smiled and placed her hands on his chest.

"So you both like me and you're afraid of me, huh? Mind telling me why your so afraid of me?" asked Eda starting to feel her confident side coming back.

"Your the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles and you've proven it from what I've seen. I was afraid that if I said or did anything that would make you upset, I was afraid you'd hurt me. You know that my dad hurt me a lot like many others, and what Lilith did to me, when I found you and her were sisters, I was afraid you were like her. But you've shown me your nothing like Lilith. Yet I was still terrified." Maxwell confessed.

She could see that Maxwell was shaking a bit from admitting this and it proved he is scared of Eda yet everything that he's told her proved he likes her at the same time. She felt proud that he understood she's the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles and that she proved it. Eda felt that for some reason, knowing that Maxwell is afraid of her bothered her. She felt like for some reason, she didn't want him to fear her. She looked at him with an expression of sympathetic compassion.

"Maxie, I don't want you to fear me. I'd never hurt you. I'd never hurt Luz, King, I'd never hurt Owlbert or Hooty. You got nothing to be afraid of from me." Eda reassured. "Look at me and focus on me."

Maxwell obeyed and looked up at Eda, he saw the expression on her face and he rarely saw that expression on someone like her. Maxwell let out a sigh and tried to let go of his fear.

"Is the reason why you did this for me because you like me?" asked Eda kindly.

"It's more than like. I've been feeling this way since the witches dual, the moment you smooched me on the lips. I...I fell in love." said Maxwell finally telling her.

Eda was silent for a moment.

"So I became the first lady to kiss you and ever since than, you've fallen in love with me?" said Eda as she seem to half know about it and was half shocked.

Maxwell nodded and Eda was feeling like her heart was beating faster for him now.

"Despite my fear of you. I think my sense of love is bigger than my sense of fear. I'd do anything for you and I can't disobey you. If you jump ship, than I jump with you." Maxwell said finally using the word love. "I know, I sound like a love struck fool."

Maxwell waited for Eda to laugh at him as he sensed or suspected that she would laugh at him for confessing his feelings for her. But no laughter was heard. He looked right at her and all he saw was a smile, she placed her hands on Maxwell's shoulders now.

"Maxie, I can't believe you went through all of that in order to help me. Luz and King and even Owlbert have helped me a lot with many things, but what you did to help me." Eda said as she paused.

Eda was overwhelmed with a sense of pride, she was overjoyed and pulled Maxwell in close as she planted her big and soft lips to his in a deep and passionate kiss. She was pressing her body against his as she gently pinned him on his back to the wall of her bedroom. She was making out with him as Maxwell felt his fear of her vanish and he kissed her back. Both of them were kissing each other, practically showing a romantic kiss as they were making out. Their hearts were pounding and their lips eventually pulled off each others in a very loud pop.

"Maxie, what you did is...the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. I know that this potion isn't a permanent solution but a temporary solution is better than nothing at all." said Eda softly.

Eda shed a tear from this and she kissed Maxwell again on the lips. Maxwell felt his heart race so fast that it felt like it would beat out of his chest.

"Kiss me, big boy." Eda said between the kissing.

They kissed each other on the lips as their hearts raced from not just the excitement but also from the amount of love they both felt from this. Maxwell did something for her that no one has ever done for Eda and Eda was feeling like she was falling in love with Maxwell, she has dated before but she felt different about this, she felt as though she really wanted to pursue a relationship with him, a human male. She eventually pulled her lips off him.

"Maxie, you're right about one thing. You might be a love struck fool." said Eda admitting something.

Maxwell looked up at her, blushing. Yet he saw her with a grin as he wondered what she meant. Eda placed her hands on Maxwell's chest where his heart is located, she was feeling his heart pounding from the kissing.

"But you're my love struck fool." said Eda kindly.

Hearing this made Maxwell feel better. Eda placed her hand on Maxwell's cheek, lifted his face up again and smiled once more.

"What your feeling towards me may seem weird and confusing in some circles, being in love with someone but fearing them at the same time, well, some circles may see that as weird and confusing, but in this world, weird and confusing is our normality on the Boiling Isles. This is why Luz seems to like this world so much." explained Eda reassuring him what he felt is normal. "But just so you know, you, Luz, King, Owlbert and Hooty, you all are under my protection. If anyone hurts you or anyone that is my own, than they have to deal with me."

Eda pulled him in for a hug, placing his head against her chest, she rubbed his back slowly as if to comfort him and let him know she meant what she said. This seemed to work.

"As for my sister and this reptilian man, it's possible this man could be who you say he is, or he could be a shapeshifter or someone disguised as someone else. Trust me, you wouldn't believe how far magic can go to do all sorts of things that could even make a witch seem surprised. If we ever encounter the one who cursed me, than perhaps we can take him down, but it won't be easy since we have no idea if he's any of the above." explained Eda being honest.

"So all of this is true? Even if a world like this?" asked Maxwell.

"I've been around the block for a long time and you'd be surprised at what I know and what is possible in this world." said Eda reminding him she knew more.

"I'll take your word for it. Just as my mother told me." stated Maxwell.

"Women are wiser and always right, even when they're wrong, they're always right." Eda stated.

Maxwell nodded as he agreed. Eda pulled him in for one more kiss as she spent some time kissing him and he kissed back. Eda felt grateful that Maxwell went out of his way to help her with her curse, even if she originally didn't want him to worry or get involved, she now sees that he did this for her and it was out of love for her. She accepted his feelings for her and as Maxwell kissed her back, both of them felt a bit turned on. They spent some time making out as Maxwell couldn't believe that he won over the woman he's in love with and Eda couldn't believe how far Maxwell was willing to go to help her with her curse. They felt as though this is their happiest moment together.


	33. Chapter 33

A day had gone by since Maxwell confessed his love to Eda and Maxwell felt like he was the happiest guy alive right now. When Kin and Luz found out that Maxwell confessed his feelings to Eda and he won her over, they were ecstatic. Luz couldn't stop hugging him and she even found the strength to hug him to the point of lifting him up off his feet. King was doing himself a victory dance.

"Oh yeah! Maxie did it, yeah baby, he did it, he did it, our baby boy did it!" King said in a sing song voice.

Even after a long day, both Luz and King felt a bit tired after the gang had gotten done with their daily task of selling potions and more. They made it home and both King and Luz would be sitting on the couch.

"Wow! I never knew Maxie was so strong when he was carrying everything." said Luz amazed.

"I think he did it because he was being a gentlemen to the ladies." teased King.

"Oh you furry goofball." said Eda giggling.

"Where did lover boy go to, by the way." asked King curiously.

"He's on the rooftop tower, he said he needed a moment alone to think." came Hooty chiming in.

They understood what Hooty told them. Eda felt that Maxwell could use a moment alone to think since she saw that he worked up the courage to tell her his feelings towards her. She knew that Maxwell was not only feeling happier than anyone felt before but she knew that he's in love with her and at times was doing a good job at not showing fear of her.

King let out a yawn and so did Luz.

"You guys tired?" asked Eda with a grin.

"A little, mind if we nap on the couch?" yawned Luz.

"King has slept in many places inside this house before, he once fell asleep in his seat at the table in the kitchen once. So I don't mind." said Eda kindly.

As Luz and King yawned and lay together on the couch, they got comfortable and nearly began to fall asleep. Eda walked down the hallway and up the stairs to her room as she remembered where the potions were at that Maxwell had gotten her. She pulled one out of the bag that she kept in a box that she kept the elixir in. She popped the stopper off and pressed the vial to her lips as she would swallow down the entire vial.

She swallowed down the entire vial and afterwards, she felt a little strange. She felt like her body was not so tired, her body was tingling a little and she looked at herself in the mirror that was in her room. What she saw nearly made her feel so excited that she was speechless. If she had any wrinkles, they were completely gone, her hair color was starting to go from grey and white to her natural hair color that she had when she was younger, her hair was bright orange, her skin was looking to turning completely flawless and her body felt like it was having the energy and stamina of an eighteen-year-old human. She saw this happening and once it stopped, she smiled and fought the urge to squeal in excitement.

"Oh my word! It worked, it worked! Each potion will last me a month and I got two months of no worry." Eda said breathing in and out of excitement. "It may be temporary till we can find a way to get this curse off me completely but I'll take a temporary solution. Oh my word, I look fabulous!"

Eda started to do a victory dance in her room and her heart raced from excitement. The first thing that came to mind was what to tell Maxwell, she walked out of her room and as she walked down the stairs, took one turn that lead to the kitchen and the stairs to the rooftop tower, she was hearing something that sounded like music.

"Wait till Maxie boy sees me now." said Eda with excitement.

Eda made it to the top and just when she was opening the door to the rooftop of the tower, she saw Maxwell was standing up and looking out towards where ever his face was looking out to. Maxwell suddenly turned around and stood towards the door. He didn't see Eda but Eda could see him as she could hear what sounded like soft rock music.

"This is for you, Eda." said Maxwell.

As the music kept going and sounded a bit emotional, that's when Maxwell began to sing as he started to sound like he was a soft rock singer from the sixties decade and he was singing beautifully.

_"Bit by bit, I'm falling under your spell. Your smile's all I need to see to know we'll, leave this endless darkness, saying, "Come along with me!" Hold my ha-a-a-a-a-and"_

The music began to sound a bit softer but than the tune was getting back to the soft rock tune with an electric guitar tune along with it. Eda was seeing that Maxwell was singing this out of love for her.

_"Back when you first came into my life, I recalled a place that I knew as a child: a special place, one that I held close to my heart. Won't you lead me in a dance down this winding road, where light and shadow entwine to take hold of the thoughts of the one left far behind? Know that sometimes, I want to turn around and see the things that I've passed on the journey, But know with love on my side, with courage and pride, I'll fight; I will carry o-o-o-o-on"_

His voice became powerfully beautiful when he was continuing to sing out such words and the tune only got a bit more emotional along with the sounds of the words that Maxwell sang out. Eda felt like she could almost shed a tear from how beautiful Maxwell's voice sounded along with the musical tune.

_"Bit by bit, I'm falling under your charm. You'll keep me and all the world far from harm. Bring hope to everyone; take in your hands eternity. Even when it seems that I don't need you, just know that I am in love; can't wait to, leave this endless darkness. Won't you come along with me? Hold my ha-a-a-a-and"_

The musical tune along with the guitar music was getting a bit louder with powerful emotion but it eventually started to get softer and more emotional. As the musical tune and music ended and stopped, she saw that the acoustic guitar was nearby. He obviously used magic to make it play on it's own. Eda shed a tear from how beautiful this song appeared to be along with how good of a singer Maxwell shown to be.

"I wish Eda could hear this right now." said Maxwell hopefully.

"I already have, handsome." came Eda's voice.

Maxwell was almost jumping from being startled but he saw Eda came out and walk to him. She came to him and pulled him for a hug. Maxwell was surprised to see Eda in the appearance she has now. Eda planted her lips to his in a deep and passionate kiss. They shared a kiss and she eventually pulled her lips off him in a loud pop.

"Eda, you look, how did it?" said Maxwell looking confused.

"That potion, it made me look like the way I should look or possibly the way I looked back when I was last at school. I can't believe it though." said Eda with a shaky voice. "But don't tell anyone you saw my emotional side."

"I understand. If the potion did this for you, than regardless, you look so beautiful, both back when you were going to school back in the day and you still look beautiful now." said Maxwell nearly shedding a tear himself.

Eda had pulled Maxwell closer to her body as her front was pressed to his, her chest was pressed to his as well, both of them felt each others hearts pounding against one another's chest. Eda didn't let go of him and Maxwell even held onto her.

"Eda, I know you prefer to look tough and strong, but I want to know. You'll always love me, Luz, King? You'll always love us and protect us, right?" asked Maxwell kindly.

"Always, no one hurts my friends, no one hurts those I care about. I won't let Lilith hurt any of you, no one hurts any of you. Not while I'm around." said Eda informing him.

Maxwell felt better in knowing that and Eda pulled him in for another kiss to the lips. She was making out with him softly as she felt her heart pounding a bit more. She eventually pulled her lips off him as she placed one of her hands on Maxwell's chest and began to sensually stroke her index finger around his chest where his heart is located, she stroked her finger around that area in circular motion. Eda was feeling so excited that her heart and mind told her what she desired to do for Maxwell as she was feeling her excitement turn into arousal. Maxwell blushed deeply as if feeling like Eda was showing him her power over him.

"Maxie, would you object if I said I wanted to show you my softer side?" said Eda subtly flirting with him.

She placed her other hand on Maxwell's butt, giving it a firm squeeze but she made sure that Maxwell felt no pain. Maxwell blushed and felt his body was growing excited and a sense of heat was building up inside him.

"Eda, you're trying to seduce me, are you?" asked Maxwell feeling excited.

"Yes I am, Maxie boy!" said Eda.

She lifted her eye brows up a few times with a grin and planted a kiss upon Maxwell's chest where his heart would be. Maxwell seemed to catch on and since he had his first kiss with Eda, he knew that this would be his first time and he felt that he wanted his first time to be with Eda.

"Will you be gentle with me? You probably already know that this will be my first time and you'll be my first." said Maxwell starting to worry a little.

"It's alright, I won't let you feel any pain. No harm will come to you. You can say that mama protects her own." said Eda reassuring him. "Besides, Luz and King are asleep down stairs, they got all tuckered out after today."

Maxwell now felt a big tent forming in his pants as he was starting to give into her temptation. He wrapped his arms around Eda as he felt completely drawn to her now.

"I'll do anything you ask me to do. I'm a little nervous but I think I can handle it since I'm in your safe hands." said Maxwell feeling his fear disappearing.

Eda giggled and she lead Maxwell towards the door, closing the door behind them. They walked down the stairs, went passed the kitchen, turned a corner and walked down the hallway that lead to the stairs. They walked up the stairs to the second floor and they entered the bedroom. Eda had closed the double doors and locked the doors. As she turned to Maxwell, she saw him looking a little nervous.

"I should tell you. If you see me, you know, without clothing on, your in for somewhat of a shock. My body is a little different from most boys my age." said Maxwell warning her.

"Let me guess, you got a big one down there and your muscular." Eda joked innocently.

Maxwell blushed and Eda could tell that she possibly guessed one of them to be true. She giggled and grinned.

"Would you feel better if I showed you my body first? Just to help ease your nervousness?" suggested Eda.

Maxwell nodded, he never saw what Eda's body looked like. He may have seen what another woman's body looked like by accident but he didn't see much of any woman's body since it was only brief. Eda winked at him as she suddenly took off her high-heeled boots, than she slipped off her white socks, placing them near the door. She slipped off her grey leggings like they were leg warmers, she placed them where she put her boots and socks were. Maxwell was seeing her do this and was almost wondering how she looked when completely naked. She began to slip herself out of her dress and when she slipped it off her body, that's when she was in nothing but a pink bra and pink panties.

"You like what you see?" Eda chuckled.

Maxwell was nearly speechless as he stared at her body and as he blushed, he nodded as if under her control and under her command. She easily removed her panties and her bra, she placed her clothing where she placed the rest of her clothing. Maxwell saw her body, fully nude, and he saw that she had quite the slender body and she had the biggest set of double D sized breasts, each breasts appeared to be at least a foot long, a foot wide and a foot thick. They were a huge set of breasts while her butt appeared to be big like her breasts, quite a big and thick butt. Maxwell saw her body in all it's glory.

"Oh my, your body, it's so beautiful. They said that the body resembles the physical health of one person. You're so healthy looking." said Maxwell with a grin.

"Baby like what mama's got." said Eda blowing him a kiss.

Maxwell nodded and agreed, he began to undress himself. He first undone his laces to his boots, than he took his boots and his white socks off, placing them near the nest. He removed his pants and shirt easily but when Eda saw his body, she got an eyeful. She saw that Maxwell really did have a muscular body, his arms and legs looked to be muscular but when she saw the rest of his muscular body, she saw that his torso was covered in old scratches, old scars and they all looked like they were looking more like red scratches. Eda was a bit surprised.

"Those scars, them scratches. They look painful. Was this your dad's doing?" asked Eda looking worried.

"Yes, your the first person to see them." admitted Maxwell.

Eda understood that Maxwell was abused by his own father, both physically and verbally. She expected some scars to be seen but this was more than how much she expected to see. She came over to him and placed her hands on his chest and belly.

"Well, your now surrounded by love. Both from me, King and Luz. Wounds heal, scars fade. Time heals all wounds, now that your with us, all them scars can fade and the wounds can heal." said Eda with a word of comfort.

Hearing her tell him this made the young male human feel comfort and loved. Eda suddenly helped him remove his underpants and once she got them off him and all his clothing was placed where his boots were, she got a shocking sight at Maxwell's lower body. She saw Maxwell had a fully erect cock, it was at least a foot long and really thick and wide, his balls were quite big too. Seeing the size of them got Eda really aroused.

"Oh my word, Maxie! Your huge, I know I made a joke but I didn't know it was true." said Eda with a grin.

"I never could tell why I was this big but I figured it had to be the way I'm built or maybe some other reason." said Maxwell as he admitted he had no idea.

The excitement in Eda's body grew and Maxwell was feeling like he was under her power but something felt like he didn't mind it. Eda placed her hands on his shoulders and started to lead him towards her nest and snapped her fingers as she moved her finger towards what looked like a laundry hamper that had a clean pink blanket slip out of it, she had it float over to her bed while the blanket laid on top of her nest and she gently laid Maxwell on his back in her nest and she got on top of him. Maxwell could see her big breasts were shaking in front of him but he kept his eyes and face towards hers. Eda suddenly placed her hands on his chest.

"Maxie, it's alright to be a little afraid. Don't worry, I promise it won't hurt." said Eda with a word of comfort.

"Don't let go of me." said Maxwell hopefully.

"You know I love you and I won't let go. I'm right here." Eda reassured.

Eda nodded and she positioned herself to make sure she slipped Maxwell's huge dick inside her wet entrance. Both of them moaned a bit as she felt tight inside and he was a tight fit inside her.

"It'll feel this way for a bit but it feels better as we keep going. Just look up at me and focus on me. Focus on mama." moaned Eda softly.

He looked up at her and focused on her. He saw her reassuring face and nodded, feeling like she was comforting him like a mother to her child. Eda began to eagerly but gently thrust her body against his as she was riding his big dick, her huge breasts would bounce in front of him. Their bodies felt as though they were experiencing a comforting warmth together like their body heat was keeping them warm.

"I know we're probably a tight fit but that's how it's suppose to be." moaned Eda.

"I feel safe with you in your arms. Your as beautiful as the day I met you." moaned Maxwell kindly.

"Oh you flatter me." Eda chuckled.

Their movements matched each others. As she would ride and thrust his big dick, he would follow her movements as his hips would thrust with hers. She kept her hands on his shoulders now and she kept going with her movements. Their moans were soft and their hearts were racing a bit faster as they were starting to like this feeling.

"Your turning out to be quite the man." moaned Eda softly.

"I feel like I'm becoming a man. I only want to be your man." moaned Maxwell.

Eda let out a chuckle and leaned in to press her lips to Maxwell's lips as she was kissing him during the moaning. They were making out with each other. They turned out to be really good kissers from how their kissing was deep and passionate.

"Maxie boy." moaned Eda during the kiss.

"Oh Eda." moaned Maxwell during the kiss.

They kissed each other for a good long time and pulled their lips off in a loud pop. They took in a breath of air and let it out. Eda began to increase her bodies movements a bit faster, she ridden him a bit faster, her inner walls squeezed a bit tighter, her huge breasts bounced a bit faster too. Their bodies felt the heat growing a bit hotter which they were really starting to like the sensations spreading through out their bodies.

"I'm starting to see why they call it making love." gasped Maxwell.

"You know it, Maxie boy. You may be a love struck fool, but your my love struck fool." gasped Eda.

As their bodies increased the speed of their movements, it only made the sensations in their bodies grow stronger, hotter and deeper. Eda leaned in and was licking Maxwell's chest out of excited arousal as she had a surprisingly long, thick and wide tongue. Maxwell chuckled a bit from this.

"Oh my, your quite a woman in bed." moaned Maxwell.

"With what I'm doing, your heart will be pumping like an adrenaline rush." moaned Eda.

He chuckled from how she was licking his chest while she was working her way up to licking his cheek, causing him to laugh a little. With how she was thrusting her body upwards to ride his big cock, the tight feeling of her inner walls growing tighter and how she was handling their sexual encounter was not only turning him on but it was making her become as wild as an animal during mating season.

"Oh Eda, your quite ravenous." moaned Maxwell with a giggle.

"Don't worry, big boy. I'm just kinky that way." moaned Eda huskily.

As their bodies were tingling all over and it grew stronger, that's when she stopped licking him and planted her big, full and soft lips to his and as they were kissing each other. Eda started to explore his mouth with her tongue exploring every nook and cranny of his mouth as their tongues would wrestle each other.

"Mama like." moaned Eda during the kiss.

"Oh mama." moaned Maxwell during the kiss.

After kissing each other for a good long time, they pulled their tongues back in their own mouths. Everything was tingling inside and their bodies felt like their orgasms were building up as Eda would thrust harder and ride Maxwell's big shaft faster, her huge breasts kept bouncing in front of him faster in an up and down motion. The heat and tension in their bodies continued to grow inside as that only got their bodies feeling more aroused and excited.

"If this is what it's like to be under your power. I'm starting to like it." moaned Maxwell with a grunt.

"I'm the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles and your under my power but no need to be afraid, such power protects you and your big heart." moaned Eda with a tone of excitement.

Eda gave a firm grip to Maxwell's shoulders as she started to ride his huge dick as fast as she could, thrusting as hard as she could, her huge breasts bouncing at top speed in front of him. He followed her movements as he would thrust upwards with her. The heat and tension was as hot, high, strong and deep as possible. They felt a very powerful orgasm was growing closer.

"Ohhhh Eda, I feel like I'm gonna blow up. Hold me close to you." moaned Maxwell with excitement.

"Your so huge, ohhhh, your gonna make me explode. Ohhhh, mama's got you. Mama's got you, mama's got you." moaned Eda in a very lustful tone.

Eda held onto him closely to her body as she wasn't letting up with her bodie's movements. Maxwell's whole body tightened up in a straight line as he couldn't move much. Eda was able to move her body at a rapid pace which their bodies were on fire from the arousal, the pleasantly tickly sensations and they felt an enormous amount of pressure in their lower bodies, causing them to moan so loud and grunt.

"Come to mama!" Eda moaned in a steamy tone.

"Ahhhhhhh." grunted Maxwell.

They had felt it happen like a bomb going off. They both had a very powerful and very intense orgasm. Maxwell blasted his cum inside her powerfully hard and was filling her deeply. Eda was blasting her juices all over his lower body as she was letting it out like a flood of water. Their bodies thrust upwards everytime they shot out a rope of cum.

"Eda yes!" moaned Maxwell loudly.

"Yes Maxie boy, yes." moaned Eda huskily.

They kept thrusting and they kept cumming for a very good long time as their orgasms lasted longer than it should for even a witch or human. Their orgasms had them humping each other at such a rapid motion and their bodies tickled a lot.

"Ohhhh I love you, Maxie." moaned Eda nearly screaming.

"Ohhhh I love you forever." moaned Maxwell also nearly screaming.

Their orgasms eventually died down and came to an end. Eda would lay on top of him as both were panting and a bit sweaty all over.

"Now I know why they say making love is incredible with the one they're in a relationship with. You're incredible." panted Maxwell.

"You're incredible yourself." panted Eda.

Eda was kissing Maxwell on his chest, his cheeks, his forehead and even his lips. They were cuddling with each other in the others arms and Eda placed a hand where Maxwell's heart was located.

"Eda, you'll always protect us?" asked Maxwell kindly.

"Always. You, Luz and King are my own. No one is allowed to harm any of you. I may not always admit it but I'll always love you, Luz and King." Eda admitted.

Hearing this made Maxwell feel safe with her. She rubbed his chest with her hand sensually.

"No will take any of you away from me." Eda told him.

"Oh Eda." said Maxwell shedding a tear.

Eda began to kiss Maxwell on the lips again as they were starting to make love again. They had made love at least three times and were both powerfully good lovers in bed. They made love while King and Luz slept on the couch in the living room.

Little did they know, somewhere on the Boiling Isles, there was something going on. Somewhere, Lilith was having a fit of rage kick into her as she was inside the Conformatorium. She was walking down the cells in the prison. She stopped at one of the prison cells and saw a man in there.

"So why should I listen to you?" asked Lilith sounding furious.

"If you want to succeed in what you're doing, than you need me to get to my son and stop him." came the man's voice.

As Lilith showed a bit of curiosity, she saw the man come out from the shadows and the man appeared to have long, grey hair with strands of blonde around his hair, he had a clean and shaven face and he was a human male adult that appeared to be at least in the middle of his thirties. He had an evil smile.

"Who are you to this pathetic human child?" asked Lilith crossing her arms.

"I'm Daston Logan. I'm his father and I'm the only one who can stop him from helping anyone whose his so called friends. If you help me, I help you." said the man. "Do we have a deal?"

Daston came to the bars of his cell and held out his hand for Lilith to shake as if to seal that deal. Lilith was originally disgusted with humans or making deals with them but she knew that if Maxwell got in the way of her plans, than she had no other choice. She traced a circle in the air and they both placed their hands through the circle and shook hands.

"If I have to do this with a human in order to take down another. Than we have a deal." said Lilith.

"Done!" said Daston.

Even as Eda would always love and protect Luz, King, Maxwell, Hooty and Owlbert, they didn't know that somewhere out there, both Lilith and Maxwell's father had made a deal and they had plans.

End of part I


End file.
